A Gate to Desolation
by xxSPARTAN119xx
Summary: Eighteen years after he returned from that desolate, violent world, Shuzo Mazutani wanted to get on with his life. Off-duty JSDF officer and self-admitted otaku Youji Itami just wanted to buy some doujinshi at an anime convention. Unfortunately for both of them, Shu's dark past invaded Ginza with a vengeance...
1. Chapter 1: It Followed Me Home

**Author's note: I do not own Gate or Now and Then, Here and There. Gate is owned by Takumi Yanai and A1 Pictures. Now and Then, Here and There is owned by AIC. This is a fan-made work which I am making no profit from.**

 **Chapter 1: It Followed Me Home...**

 _Shuzo Mazutani_

 _Civilian_

 _Ginza, Tokyo, Japan_

 _July 18, 2019_

Grew up in a suburb of Tokyo as the son of a middle class family, studies kendo since childhood, went to university earned a degree in computer science, and is now working IT at a corporation in Tokyo. By accounts, Shuzo Mazutani seemed like an average Japanese man.

But had a secret he had never told anyone, for who would believe him: parallel universe are real, and he had been to one as a child...

It all happened in the year 2000, when Shu was twelve years old. He had climbed on an abandoned factory, where he met that mysterious girl with that weird name: "Lala Ru". Now, this is starting to sound like the set up to one of those anime that have been popular of late- stories about some kid finding a portal to a world exactly like a fantasy RPG, gaining some sort of overpowered ability, saving the world, and having several girls fighting over his affections.

But the world Shu ended up in was not a shining fantasy paradise of elves and dragons. Instead, it was a post-apocalyptic hellhole where water and food were scarce, and the few remaining resources are controlled by warlords leading militias, armed with improvised firearms and vehicles which I could only assume were relics of a fallen civilization. Murder, rape, torture, death, destruction, and the use of child soldiers were facts of every day life there.

As a child, Shu was unshakably optimistic, even in that bleak world. Looking bac, however, he realized how lucky a 12-year old with no survival or combat training, armed only with a 2x4, was to survive that world of horrors and make it back home alive.

When he got home from the ordeal, Shu thought he had left that world behind, even that the other world would be a better place with the new source of water courtesy of that weird magic water amulet thing that Lala-Ru had, and the fall of the tyrant Hamdo.

Sixteen years later, he would realize how horribly wrong he was...

Shu was walking out of the Ginza subway station, on the way to meet a few of his friends at a restaurant in the popular shopping district for lunch, when the usual sounds of cars and pedestrians were drowned out by an altogether more menacing sound. From behind him, heard a series of deafening, and horribly familiar cracking sounds: gunfire.

Shu looked behind him and saw a great glowing orb of light appear, and out of it, marched hundreds of men in dirty tan-colored uniforms, all of them armed with rifles that looked held together, in some case literally, with duct tape.

People screamed and fled the area as the soldiers opened fire, cutting down bystanders left and right. From behind the soldiers, armed exoskeletons opened up with their weapons. Looming over the entire army were massive tanks the size of two buses parked side-by-side

A police officer raised his sidearm and fired at the invading army, taking down one of the soldiers, only to be struck by a dozen different bullets and fall face down on the ground, blood flowing out of his numerous wounds onto the ground.

In furious retaliation, the exoskeletons and tanks added their firepower to the massacre. Left and right, bystanders were torn to shreds by exploding cannon shells or engulfed by flamethrower blasts.

In that moment, Shu was the only man who knew what this meant... his dark past had returned with a vengeance...

Shu sprinted into a side alley, away from the carnage of the attack. As he ran, he heard a female voice, of what he assumed was the commander of the invading army, speaking in the alien language he had not heard in 15 years.

"This land has been placed under the rule of the Tabul Empire, surrender now or be annihilated!"

From behind him, Shu heard footsteps close behind entering the alleyway. Immediately, he dove behind a dumpster.

A male voice spoke out the same alien language as before, yelling, "Get in there and flush out any survivors!"

As the soldiers slowly advanced down the alleyway, Shu clung to the wall of the dumpster, hoping they would not see him. Unfortunately, his luck did not hold. Instead, an enemy soldier's head behind the dumpster.

In a rush of adrenaline, Shu eized the barrel of the soldier's gun, a crude submachine gun that seemed to have been made from plumbing parts, the barrel held on with bundles of wire. As pushing the barrel of the gun up, away from his face with both hands, Shu kneed his attacker in the groin as hard as he could.

As the "other-worlder" lost his grip on the gun, Shu thrust the weapon backwards, the crude, unfinished wood stock making contact with his eye and illiciting a second shout of pain. Without even thinking about what he was doing, Shu turned the weapon around on the stunned soldier and placed the barrel against his face and firing a burst of three rounds.

The back of the soldier's head exploded in a spray of blood, as Shu sidestepped out from behind the dumpster and caught sight of the second surprised soldier. Shu held down the trigger and fired an inexpertly aimed burst, the recoil threw bullets all over the place, but at the range of less than two meters, it was impossible to miss. Three or four bullets still struck the man in the chest. The soldier dropped his rifle and coughed up blood as he breathed his last.

When Shu first visited the other world, he had refused to carry a rifle or kill anyone, refusing to drop to the level of the inhabitants of this world. Now, however, the sheer determination to survive had thrown all that out the window.

Without thought or contemplation, Shu had shot those "other-worlder" soldiers, who could not have been older than 18, and with equal cold mechanical efficiency, he seized what I hoped were a pair of spare magazines for the weapon, and fled as fast as he could.

About 100 meters ahead, the alley exited back onto the main road. At that moment, Shu heard a loud whining noise, the sound of one of bizarre hovercraft motorcycles that the other-worlders used.

Turning on the spot, Shu saw the hover-bike charge towards him, hovering about a meter off the ground. He took aim, or at least tried to, with the crude sight on the gun and held down the trigger. The gun recoiled up as it fired a burst of about five rounds all of them going over the head of the hover-bike driver. Then, the click of the empty chamber

"I should have expected this", Shu thought, "before today, I had never used a gun in my life." In a desperate bid to get out of the line of fire of the hover bike's mounted machine guns, Shu dove the ground landing face down on the concrete as bullets flew centimeters over his head.

The hover bike lowered its machine guns to their lowest possible elevation. In a fraction of a second, Shu's whole life seemed to flash before his eyes.

"After all that, was this it?", Shu asked himself, "Had I escaped that insane world, only to die by the hands of its inhabitants years later?"

Shu's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. Looking up, Shu saw the driver of the "hover-bike" slumped over and fell of the vehicle. The hover-bike kept going and crashed into a parked car, destroying both vehicles.

"Are you all right? Can you get to us?!", a voice called from about 25 meters away from Shu. Turning to the source of the voice, he saw a man wearing an orange T-shirt carrying a Howa Type 64 battle rifle. Standing next to him was a police officer armed with an MP5 submachine gun.

"I'm fine", Shu said, as he got up and walked over to them.

The man in the orange shirt spoke first, "2nd Lieutenant Youji Itami, off-duty JSDF", the man said, "Come with us, I have coordinated with the cops and we are now holding up with Imperial Palace. The place is a fortress".

Itami and police officer led a herd of a few dozen civilians, including Shu, for several blocks to the east, past the Peninsula Hotel and Hibiya Station, and then across the _Meganebashi_ bridge, the crowd moving ahead as fast as they could, trying to stay ahead of the invading forces.

After about fifteen minutes seemed much longer, they made across the outer palace gardens and into it to the _Nijubashi_ bridge into the inner courtyards into of the Imperial Palace.

Itami reached the gates first, and spoke to a Special Assault Team officer- the equivalent of the SWAT teams of American police.

"This is the last group of civilians", Itami said, "The enemy should be here in about 10 minutes. Any word from the JSDF?"

"Air forces and helicopters have been scrambled for Yokota and Kisarazu, ETA 30 minutes. They also have land forces and an _Asagiri-class_ destroyer inbound".

"I think we should be able to hold out until then.", Itami said, the uncertainty of the sentence was not reassuring.

Shu's overhearing of the conversation was interrupted by a police officer standing just inside the castle gate, with about a dozen "other-worlder" weapons at his feet.

"Any civilians who have scavenged weapons from the invaders are required to turn them in to a police officer", the officer said with a bullhorn, "Any persons with police or military experience willing to volunteer in the defense are to report the nearest officer."

Shu walked over to the cop, holding the SMG he had so recently acquired by the barrel, muzzle facing upward. "Here", he said, handing the officer the gun, and then the two spare magazines, "No doubt you're a better shot than I am".

Part of Shu was happy to be rid of the reminder of his dark past. On the other hand, part of him wanted felt at least slightly safer with the weapon.

Regardless, a recently disarmed Shu filed into the _Chowaden_ Reception Hall, the place where the Emperor made public appearances. Normally, the public were not allowed in here- it was directly attached to the Emperor's residence. But this was no ordinary situation.

The police officers led the crowd past the bulletproof glass window which the Imperial family stood during public appearances, down a hallway and into a door leading to a basement. Out the window, he could see other people being led to the Imperial Household Agency building.

Quite apart from the beautifully apportioned palace, the basement had bare concrete walls. It presently used as a store items area used by the employees of the Imperial Household Agency in the maintenance of the palace, but the structure looked like a World War II-era bunker, which Shu realized it could well be.

As the door closed, the basement was densely packed with civilians. Shu could only hope the police could halt the invaders until the JSDF arrived.

 **JSDF Intel Database: XV-1 Fast Attack Hovercraft**

 **Vehicle Type:** **Ultra Light Hovercraft**

 **Armament:** **variable, 2x 13mm or 8mm machine guns typical, side-mounted XRPG-1 rockets (some models)**

 **Height:** **1.2 meters**

 **Width:** **1.4 meters**

 **Length:** **2.7 meters**

 **Weight:** **0.5 tons**

 **Crew: 1**

 **Armor:** **none**

 **Top Speed:** **200+ kilometers per hour**

 **Description:** **The XV-1 (Extraterrestrial Vehicle, First Type Encountered) is a small high-speed hovercraft with an engine in the front of the vehicle, with a pilot seated in the middle of the craft in an open seat, similar to a motorcycle. A thruster for forward momentum is located to the rear. The vehicle is capable of levitating about one meter off the ground by a small turbojet engine, similar to the failed US-Canadian Avrocar VTOL aircraft of the 1960s and 1960s. JSDF tests of captured vehicles have clocked the vehicle at speeds over 200 kilometers per hour. XV-1s are primarily used by Special Region faction for reconnaissance and fast hit and run attacks, as well as a messengers, as radios are rare in the war-ravaged Special Region. The vehicle is armed with a pair of machine guns, and sometimes with racks of two-six infantry-held rocket launchers for anti-tank attacks. The XV-1 has proven to be one of the most successful Special Region vehicles in an anti-tank role when mounted with rockets, which could not penetrate heavy composite armor, but could disable the tracks and sensor system of JSDF main battle tanks, and then flee as quickly as they arrived. The XV-1, also, however, is vulnerable even small arms fire because of their lack of armor and open cockpit.**

 **JSDF Intel Database: XSMG-1 Submachine Gun**

 **Weapon Type: Submachine Gun**

 **Effective Range: 20-40 meters**

 **Caliber: 9mm (typically)**

 **Rate of Fire: Variable, 600-1000 RPM**

 **Description: The XSMG-1 is a blanket term for a variety of similar submachine guns manufactured in the Special Region from improvised parts. The weapon is also commonly known as "Sten", after the British World War II-era submachine gun of similar appearance, as well as the "pipe gun" for the fact that many of the parts appear to be fashioned from plumbing components and other improvised materials. The design elements vary between individual weapons, and as they are not mass produced, parts are not interchangeable between weapons. Weapons are typically chambered for a 9mm round with a slightly longer casing than the 9mm Parabellum, fed through typically 20 or 30 round magazines inserted from the side or bottom of the weapon. Elements such as stocks, pistol grips, and sights vary greatly in design and may be absent entirely some examples. The internal mechanisms of most examples operate on the simple blowback principle, and can achieve rates of fire of anywhere from 600-1000 rounds per minute. The weapon has a very short effective range due to severe recoil and poor quality ammunition, and improvised design means there are often ample openings for sand to enter the weapon, leading to frequent jams.**


	2. Chapter 2: Under Seige

**Author's note: I do not own Gate or Now and Then, Here and There. Gate is owned by Takumi Yanai and A1 Pictures. Now and Then, Here and There is owned by AIC. This is a fan-made work which I am making no profit from.**

 **Chapter 2: Under Seige**

 _2_ _nd_ _Lt. Youji Itami_

 _Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces (off-duty)_

 _Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan_

 _July 18, 2019_

JGSDF Lieutenant Youji Itami was a self-admitted otaku who only joined the military because officer candidate school was the only place that accepted him after finishing university.

When the mysterious enemy invaded, Itami was off-duty, having intended to attend an anime convention and buy this season's latest _Mei-Com_ doujinshi and merchandise.

The sudden appearance of that a mysterious portal in the middle of Ginza changed all of that, the invaders immediately started firing their weapons into the crowd, killing or wounding hundreds, destroying vehicles and damaging structures left and right. If this kept up, Itami realized, countless civilians would die, and, foremost in Itami's admittedly warped priorities, the Summer Comiket would be cancelled!

Itami took command of the police, leading groups civilians behind the thick stone walls of the Imperial Palace, and into the basement of the palace, the safest place from the enemy's weapons.

Initially, Itami had been armed with an enemy rifle, however, he discarded the poorly-made weapon for a scoped Howa Type 64, the same battle rifle issued to the JSDF, from the armory of the Imperial palace guard. Then, Itami went out into the streets a second time, holding off the enemy advanced forces, the men on those bizarre "hover-bikes". Itami and several police officers were the last survivors into the palace.

Now, Itami ran up to the nearest staircase up the walls, and joined a group of police officers guarding main gate the double bridge, walking over to his position near the east side of the Sei gate.

"Kurata, how are things looking?", Itami asked Takeo Kurata, another off duty JSDF soldier, a Staff Sergeant, who, by a twist of fate, was attending the same anime convention as he was. Unlike Itami, Kurata did not even think about joining the defenses until Itami asked if there were any off-duty JSDF or police who were willing to volunteer.

"We had a few of those hover-bike things come by, but I haven't seen any thing of the main force yet", Kurata replied, before giving a sigh, "And to think I just wanted to buy some doujinshi".

"I hear you", Itami said in a tone most unlike a superior officer as speaking to a subordinate, which drew odd looks from the surrounding police, "Let's just hope we can get this cleared up before they cancel tomorrow's event".

Itami's conversation with Kurata was cut short by the report of an SAT sniper stationed at the south east corner of the wall. "Two large groups of tangos incoming, mostly foot mobiles, but a couple dozen 'mechs' and 'hover bikes' incoming. First group is coming from the southeast from the direction of Hibiya Station, distance 650 meters. Second group advancing on the Meganebashi Bridge from the east, distance 550 meters "

"All units", Itami commanded through a radio, "Hostile contacts advancing from the east and southeast. We have a limited supply of ammo, so snipers are not to engage until they reach the road blocks on the bridges over the Hibiya moat. Those with assault rifles are not to engage until they reach the second set of stone bollards in the outer plaza. Anyone with a handgun, shotgun, or SMG is not to engage until the enemy reaches end of the Nijubashi Bridge. Snipers are to target enemy officers and weapons crews first. Deploy tear gas a range of 150 meters."

After putting down the radio, Itami looked down the 3x scope of his rifle, eyeing the slowly moving mass of other-worlder soldiers in their yellow uniforms, led by the vehicles that looked like something out of a mecha anime.

Within a few minutes, the bipedal mechs and their snake-like counterparts had reach the road block and pushed it aside, knocking the parked cars that were blocking the road off the side of the bridge and into the moat. Thankfully, there were no police at this road block- it was never meant to stop them, only to slow them down to give the snipers time to fire.

With a loud crack, one of the Howa M1500 rifles of the SAT snipers discharged, the round impacting an enemy soldier with a darker brown uniform that stood out from the others- presumably some sort of officer or NCO, and causing him to fall to the pavement, a large wound in his chest.

Less then a second later, another sniper took scored a headshot on the driver of one of the open-topped snake-like mechs, causing it the now pilotless machine to fall to the ground.

Again and again, the sniper rifles rang out, and each time, another enemy soldier, and even three more mechs, fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the enemy forces raised their rifles and fired, however, the poorly constructed, often improvised firearms of the other worlders lacked the range to effectively fire at more than a couple hundred meters. The defenders of the palace were about 500 meters away.

The bipedal mechs tried to fire their cannons at the position, the sudden impacts shaking the walls. For a second, all other sound was drowned by the roar of explosions and the frenzied shouts of "take cover!"

After a few seconds, however, the barrage ended, and the invaders advanced forward again.

"Is anyone hit!?", Itami asked.

After a few seconds punctuated by shouts affirming the lack of casualties, it had become clear that none of the shells had hit their mark, most of them either flying overhead or slamming into the lower half of the walls.

"Highly inaccurate", Itami thought, "I bet even those mechs don't have any sort of optics".

As the main forces slowly advanced, the five hover bikes and four of those snake-like mechs charged forward, the snake-mechs moving far faster than they looked like they should be able to, almost as fast as the hover bikes.

It was clear what they were trying to do- to strafe the walls with their machine guns at close range and pin down the defenders until the enemy heavy armor arrived.

"Hold fire... Hold fire", Itami commanded, urging the officers to stay calm as the enemy forces shot past the set of large stone bollards separating the parking lot from the massive outer plaza in front of the main gate. Less than a minute later, they had neared the second set of stone bollards, about 100 meters away from the gate.

The lead snake-mech stopped and reared upwards, to a height of perhaps six meters, about the level of the many black pines growing the gardens, preparing to strafe the top of the walls with its two machine guns.

At that moment, Itami lined up his sights on the driver in the open cockpit of the war machine, and slowly pulled back the trigger. The Howa Type 64 let out a thunderous roar as it spat out a burst of three 7.62mm NATO rounds, at least one of which caught the driver of the outrageously designed machine in the chest.

As the driver slumped over in his seat and the vehicle collapsed to the ground in a heap of twisted metal, Itami yelled "All units, open fire!"

The air was filled the cacophony of hundreds of handguns, SMGs, rifles, and shotguns all discharging at once. The bullets impacted the pavement around the enemy vehicles, kicking up small clouds of dust and sparks with each impact.

The nearest hover bike was riddled with bullets, the driver being struck several times, as the vehicle spun out of control and kicked up a splash of water as it landed into the moat.

Itami fired another burst at a second hoverbike but there was now way of knowing if it was his bullet, or one of countless others that caused it to explode into flames and hit the ground in a ball of fire which rolled over the pavement several times before coming to a stop.

After the loss of another snake-mech and two more hover bikes, the attack group retreated, fleeing the curtain for fire. This did nothing to shake the main force, who kept moving forward, now having made it about 200 meters from the gate of the Imperial Palace, and only about 100 meters from the southeast corner the walls.

Suddenly, more cannon fire impacted the walls. This time, one of the shells scored a direct hit on the upper part of the wall, about 50 meters from the southeast corner.

"Taking fire! Officer down!", the radio at Itami's side crackled to life. At that moment, he removed the radio from his side and held it up to the side of his head, speaking into the mouth piece.

"Deploy tear gas now! Provide cover for the medics!", Itami commanded.

Up and down the walls, the tear gas launchers carried by the police discharged with at dull thud, much quieter than the sharp crack of rifle fire. The gas canisters flew through the air about 100 to 150 meters.

The canisters landed amidst or directly in front of the invading troops, spraying a fine mist of white-colored vapor, which engulfed the enemy. Things could not have gone better- there was a slight wind out of the west, which blew the gas from the canisters that landed short of their marks right into the invading force.

At once, the gunfire stopped, even the shells from the guns of the mechs. From the magnified view of the scope of his Howa, Itami could see the silhouettes of the enemy soldiers, who turned around, trying to escape the noxious gas. The crudely maintained, likely improvised mechanical exoskeletons that supported the enemy forces offered no protection whatsoever from the tear gas, which poured into the open vision slits, burning the eyes and throats of their crews.

"Glad that worked", Itami thought to himself, "Not sure what I would have done if it hadn't".

The invading forces were now in full retreat, fleeing as fast as they could, their movement hampered by the blurred vision, difficult breathing, and vomiting caused by the tear gas. A few police officers along the wall fired a few shots, not intending to hit anything, but rather simply to further encourage the invader's retreat.

Itami, to be honest, almost felt sorry for them- he remembered only too well being exposed to tear gas in basic training, as part of a very direct demonstration of the importance of a gas mask.

However, what mattered at the moment was that the invaders were in retreat. As they crossed the line, cheers erupted down the line.

The celebration, however, was cut short by a loud roaring sound as what looked like streaks of fire blazed across the sky and slammed into the moat about 100 meters north of Itami's position. That impact was followed by several others, two of which landed directly on top of the wall, blowing away much of the stone structure, not doubt killing anyone who was standing on top.

"What the hell was that!?, Kurata yelled.

"Hostile armor, near the Peninsula Hotel range 700 meters." , Itami said as he looked through the rifle scope.

Itami spotted one of those massive tanks the invaders used, easily three times the length of the Type 90s used by the JSDF, and armed with a what looked like an improvised, short-ranged, but nonetheless devastating rocket artillery weapon, not to mention numerous smaller guns.

Flanking it were about a dozen bipedal mechs and hundreds of infantry. Clearly the invaders were not about to give up on the Imperial Palace.

Quickly formulating a plan, Itami turned to the police SAT commander, a man named Sakurai and said, "I need five of your best men, gas masks, and tear gas launchers.".

"What are you planning to do, Sir? ", Sakurai asked.

"I'm going to go north, swim across the moat near the Otemon bridge, and flank then enemy artillery through the narrow streets. Then we'll hit them with the gas, and then take out the crew while they are incapacitated", Itami explained.

"Are you crazy!?", Sakurai asked, "I cannot risk the lives of my men in such a suicidal endeavor".

"If it comes that, I'll go it alone", Itami replied, "I'm with the SFG". Under normal circumstances, JSDF Special Forces Group personnel were not to reveal their identities for reasons of national and unit security, but this hardly qualified as normal.

" **You** are Special Forces!?", Sakurai asked, giving the usual incredulous response people give me upon hearing that an otaku like me, who only joined the JSDF to support his hobby, somehow ended up in the Special Forces.

Any further discussion of Itami's, quite frankly, last ditch plan, was interrupted by the radio crackling to life yet again.

"This is the Japan Self-Defense Forces emergency broadcast. Be advised that we are now commencing air strikes against hostile armor. All police personnel and civilians remaining in the Chuo, Chiyoda, and northern Minato wards are advised to seek underground shelter immediately. This message will repeat."

"About time they showed up!", one of the police officers said

As getting underground would not be practical, Itami instead took cover behind the thick stone walls of the palace gates, along with the police that were manning the walls. A few minutes later, the roaring of a jet engine filled the air as a JSDF Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet flew overhead at low altitude and released a pair of missiles that shot downwards toward the enemy armor.

Peeking his head around the side of the palace gate, Itami saw the missiles slam into the massive tank like vehicle, which sending it up in a massive ball of fire. The flaming wreck of the enemy tank sent up a massive column of black smoke as the F-2 broke off to engage another target. The air was filled with the roar of jet engines and the thunder of exploding missiles and bombs as more aircraft moved in to attack the invading forces.

It was not long after that when roar of jet engines were joined by helicopter rotors, followed by another JSDF radio broadcast. "This is the Hunter flight, flight of seven Cobra gunships making our attack run on enemy forces near the Imperial Palace from the southeast. Heliborne troops will be inbound to the palace as soon as the outer plaza is cleared."

The five Cobras flew in a "V"-formation, with the lead aircraft at the center, flanked by three others on each side. After reaching a position down over the Imperial palace, the helicopters opened up on the enemy troops near the peninsula hotel.

Several TOW anti-tank missiles shot through the air in a streak fire, each one colliding with one of the enemy exoskeletons in a flash of fire. This was enough to force a number of the enemy soldiers to flee in terror. Less than half their number remained, firing at the helicopters with their rifles in a vain attempt to shoot them down.

Then, the helicopters moved in closer, and with an unearthly roar that drowned out all other sound, opened fire with their rocket pods and 20mm Gatling gun. Dozens of Hydra-70 rockets and hundreds of 20mm explosive shells covered the enemy forces in a sheet of flames.

As suddenly as it began, the massive display of firepower had ended, leaving only smoking wrecks and cratered ground where the enemy force once was, the silence broken only by the constant whirring of helicopter rotors.

"This is Hunter lead, good effect on target", the lead pilot in the gunship formation said through the radio, "Kilo 3-2, you are cleared to land in the Imperial Palace."

Less than five minutes later, a CH-47J Chinook helicopter flew in between the skyscrapers to the west of the Imperial Palace, making a landing on the lawn in front of the palace itself. The rear ramp of the helicopter opened, and about 40 JSDF soldier piled out of the helicopter.

About 10 of the soldiers, including a medic, stayed behind to see to the needs soldiers and police inside the walls. The rest of them filed over the to the gate just below him as Itami climbed the ladder down the side of the walls.

A JSDF officer, a major, walked up to me an said, "You Second Lieutenant Itami?!"

"Reporting for duty, Sir", Itami responded and saluted almost impulsively. In spite of his reputation as something of a "fuck up", years of military training clearly had some impact.

"At ease, Lieutenant, I am Major Nyuutabara", the officer said, "Excellent work holding palace, everyone here owes their lives to it. I'll be taking over command from here, you will assist in securing the enemy prisoners".

"Thank you, Sir", Itami replied, saluting again.

Nyutabara turned to one of the police officers on the wall, "I need this gate opened now. All police personnel not occupied with securing the civilians are to assist in rounding up any surviving enemies and taking them into custody."

As the palace gate slowly opened, Itami readied his rifle. He was not expecting combat, but decided it was better play it safe, in case a surviving enemy soldier decided to keep resisting.

Within the next few hours, it would become abundantly clear this action unnecessary. After the display of firepower of the JSDF, none of the enemy showed any will to fight, and were willingly loaded into police and military vehicles, as well as well as commandeered buses, bound for a hastily constructed temporary holding facility at Camp Fuji, to the west of Tokyo.

 **JSDF Intel Database: XAR-1 Semi-Automatic Rifle**

 **Weapon Type: Automatic Battle Rifle**

 **Effective Range: 300 meters**

 **Caliber: 8.2 mm**

 **Rate of Fire: 600 rpm (full auto)**

 **Description: The XR-1 (Extraterrestrial Automatic Rifle, Model 1) Rifle, also known as the "** _ **Zaru"**_ **after the Japanese pronunciation if "XAR", was one of the most common weapons seen in the hands of extraterrestrial humanoids, both friendly and hostile, seeing extensive use in the Ginza incident, as well as in the Special Region. The weapon is a selective-fire rifle capable of semi or fully automatic fire, though the latter of which is extremely inaccurate at all but the closest of ranges. The weapon appears to have been mass produced, however, the extended time since the post-cataclysm cessation of manufacturing have led to substantial wear and tear, and specimens have often been repaired with whatever materials are handy. The weapon has a shorter effective range than modern assault rifles, up to about 300 meters, firing a large, but comparatively low velocity 8.2mm round, which, like all ammunition in the Special Region, is crudely manufactured from refilled cartridges. Bullets are often cast or crudely machined from solid lead, steel, copper, or any other metal that is handy, or in a few rare examples, even appear to have been molded for concrete or carved from stone. These rounds are highly inaccurate, but can cause grievous wounds due to their unjacketed nature, which are prone to fragmenting or expanding in the body.**

 **JSDF Intel Database: XV-2 Bipedal Assault Walker**

 **Vehicle Type:** **Combat Walker**

 **Armament:** **1x 24mm automatic cannon OR 1x 77mm light anti-tank gun OR 1x flamethrower, 1x 13mm machine gun**

 **Height:** **4.1 meters**

 **Width:** **2.2 meters**

 **Weight:** **3.5 tons**

 **Crew: 1**

 **Armor:** **30-80mm**

 **Top Speed:** **40 kilometers per hour**

 **Description:** **The XV-2 (Extraterrestrial Vehicle, Second Type Encountered), commonly referred to by JSDF troops as a "mech", "walker", or by the name of various anime "mechs" such as "Gundam", is a bipedal mechanical walker equipped with solid steel armor ranging from 30 to 80mm in thickness, with the thickest armor on the front of the vehicle. The machine is designed as a light assault vehicle capable of being armed with an automatic cannon, an anti-tank gun, or a flamethrower. While these weapons are largely ineffective against modern main battle tanks, they may still prove a significant threat to infantry, and light vehicles. Fortunately, the walker's relatively light armor makes it an easy disabled or destroyed by most anti-armor weapons, and the long period of time since their manufacture means that most specimens have had long-since destroyed optics replaced with a simple open viewing slit, meaning weapons are mostly ineffective at ranges of greater than 500-1000 meters depending on conditions.**


	3. Chapter 3: Unwelcome News

**Author's Note: I do not own Now and Then, Here and There or Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There. This is a fan made work, which I am making no profit off of.**

 _Japanese new broadcasts_  
 _July 22, 2019_

 _Viewed from the officer's quarters of 1st. Lt. Youji Itami._  
 _JGSDF Camp Fuji, near Gotenba, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan_

The TV screen shows images of a JSDF officer stand in front of podium on a stage.

"Off-duty JSDF officer Youji Itami, the hero of the Ginza incident of August 8th, who is credited with holding Imperial Palace and protecting the over 1000 civilians taking shelter within against a force of roughly 400 enemy infantry until the JSDF arrived, was given an official commendation for valor by JSDF high command and promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant..."

The channel changed to show images of bullet holes in structures and the burned out remains of massive tracked vehicles the size of a small house, as well as destroyed bipedal exoskeletons.

"Roughly 350 people, including 47 police officers and 14 JSDF personnel were killed in the shocking incident in Ginza last Saturday. Of the unknown enemy force, over 2000 of them were killed, mostly in air strikes, and 4000 surrendered en masse upon the arrival of JSDF ground forces. The few pockets of resistance all surrendered with 24 hours.

Nearby structures were converted into makeshift morgues to process and identify the large number of casualties, and a memorial ceremony will be held near ground zero next week. Enemy prisoners were initially held at JGSDF Camp Fuji, but are in the process of transfer to a newly-constructed facility in the Seto Inland Sea.

While all Japanese dead have been identified and turned over to their families, the areas within three blocks of ground zero remains closed while authorities clear out of remains of destroyed vehicles and structures. The immediate area around the "Gate", as it is now being called, has been officially designated a JSDF facility and will be closed to the public indefinitely. "

The channel changed again. This time , the image on the screen was of a female news anchor seated at a table next to a JSDF colonel.

"The big question that is on everyone's mind is 'Who were the mysterious invaders who attacked so suddenly last Saturday'. We have JSDF Colonel Naoki Kamo with us to discuss the invaders.", the anchor said.

"Thank you, Miss Kuribayashi", Kamo said, "The army that arrived through the gate were highly unusual in terms of weapons and equipment. While some of their vehicles had exotic propulsion systems, their communications and sensor systems were far inferior to those used by the JSDF. Their infantry weapons used ammunition that appeared to have been improvised from spent casings, and weapons which had improvised parts, suggesting poor logistics.

In terms of training and organization, they appeared to have a basic command structure and limited training, but were truly more similar to an insurgent group than an organized army. To put it simply, they were neither equipped nor prepared to face an organized, modern force such as the JSDF."

The channel changed again, this time show another interview, this one with a theoretical physicist from Tokyo University.

"From what we can tell, the 'Gate' is a stable rift in the space-time continuum, or, in layman's terms, a wormhole. It could lead to another planet, another time, or even entire other universe. The possibilities are practically infinite, amazing, but at the same time, quite frankly, terrifying."

Another change of the channel switched the image of the prime minister speaking Japanese Diet meeting.

"Naturally, the land from which the invaders came does not appear on any map, however, as it is accessible only through Japanese soil, for legal purposes, it may be considered part of Japanese soil, and thus under the jurisdiction of the JSDF under the Constitution. For this reason, I motion that the Japan Self-Defense Forces be dispatched to the land beyond the 'Gate', hereafter known as the Special Region, in order to bring the perpetrators this unprovoked terrorist attack on Japanese citizens to justice!"

The television turned off, leaving the room silent. Now matter what channel he switched to, the coverage of the Ginza incident was incessant.

"First they cancel the convention, and now they postpone the entire summer anime season! And from the look of it, the JSDF might be mobilizing to the other side of the portal.", Itami sighed to himself. At this point, he could only hope he would remain stationed on this side of the portal, "Why did they have to invade now!?"

Itami was the last person you expected to be a war hero. He had only joined the Japan Self Defense Forces Officer Candidate School because no other place would take him after he earned mediocre grades, having squandered much of his college days watching anime.

Itami had graduated second to last in his class. He would have been last, were it not for the fact that one of his classmates had been injured in a training accident. As far as Itami was concerned, he didn't care. He was only doing this to support his hobby, nothing more.

At that moment, the phone rang, but not Itami's cell phone, but the land line in the small kitchen of his apartment. Itami used his cell phone for all of his personal correspondence, so it couldn't be Risa's usual mooching off him- she was officially divorced from Itami, but they still had an... unusual relationship.

No, the only people who used this phone were the Japan Self-Defense Forces. With a sigh, Itami picked up the phone and said "Sec...err... First Lieutenant Itami reporting".

"Lieutenant Itami, the voice on the phone said, "You are to report to the Central Command Building at JSDF Camp Fuji at 1500 hours today for briefing assignment to a new unit."

"Orders received, sir", Itami replied into the phone.

After he hung up the phone, Itami let out a deep sigh of frustration and said to himself, "So much for staying in Japan. Hope I can at least get back in time for Winter Comiket..."

Little did Itami know, he was not the only one who received unwelcome news from the JSDF...

Shuzo Mazutani,  
JSDF Ginza Base  
Ginza District, Tokyo, Japan  
July 22nd, 2019

Shuzo Mazutani walked into the room blank-walled, windowless, which had a folding table with two occupied desk chairs, on the side facing away from the door. A single empty seat was placed on other side the table. On the large HD screen that was the only thing on the wall, there were two video feeds, one of a man in a JSDF uniform, marking him as general, and the second of another man in a gray suit who looked like a university professor

This did not look like an interrogation room, more like a meeting or board room, which it probably was. This building housed multiple businesses until to JSDF took it over two weeks ago upon there opening of the "Gate".

In one of the seats was a JSDF lieutenant with black hair and glasses, while the right chair showed a man with greying hair wearing a black suit with a brown-tie.

"Sit down, Mazutani-san", the JSDF officer said, "I am Lieutenant Akira Yanagida of the JSDF, and this is Shinji Komakado of the Public Security Intelligence Agency. Lieutenant General Hazama of the JSDF and Dr. Shirakawa, a linguist involved in translating the Special Region language, will be viewing the interview via a live feed. I take it you know why we brought you here".

"It's about the incident in 2000 in which I came in contact with the world on the other side of the Gate. To be honest, I expected you to come looking for me sooner or later, but I didn't expect it to happen this fast", Shu replied.

"When the Gate opened, electromagnetic interference which was detected on radios and televisions at certain frequencies. This interference matched perfectly with an unknown interference centered around a collapsing factory in your hometown in the year 2000.", Komakado explained, "A factory you happened to crawl out of the ruins of seconds later."

"In any case, you admit that you have encountered the Special Region- world beyond the Gate- before, even if only for a few seconds?", Komakado asked.  
"More than a few seconds", Shu replied, "I spent about six months to a year in the other world. I was returned precisely to the place and time I came back in some sort of time portal or something. You may not believe me, but I swear it's true."

"Physicists studying the Gate have posited the possibility that it is capable of acting as a temporal anomaly.", Yanagida said, "However, this is an extraordinary claim. If you really spent that long in the Special Region, I take it you picked up the language to some degree".

"I did", Shu said, "I suspect you want me to say something in that language."  
"Correct again, Mazutani-san", Komakada said, "Please introduce yourself in the Special Region language".

"It's been a while since I last spoke the language, but here goes:", Shu said.

After finishing the last sentence, Shu suddenly switched from Japanese to an alien language unlike anything Komakado or Yanagida had heard before. Only Shirakawa looked like it was familiar.  
After having Shu say this and a few other phrases, Shirakawa said through the video screen, "The language is correct, at least as far as I can tell based on what we have translated from the prisoners. I'd say Mazutani-san telling the truth, or at least, he does indeed speak the language of the Special Region."

"Thank you, Dr. Shirakawa", General Hazama said through the other side of the same video screen as Shirakawa, "Komakado and Yanagida will continue the interview from here".

"I am pleased I was able to be of service, General", Shirakawa replied, "I believe this concludes the part of the interview concerning my area of expertise".

"Yes, you are dismissed", Hazama said, "Adopting a military tone even when speaking to a civilian, presumably out of habit."

At that, Shirakawa left the video feed, the last view of his face looking like he had some work he was anxious to get back to. The general's face now took up the entire screen.

"Now, continuing from before", the Yanagida said, "Please describe your first entry into the Special Region, Mazutani-san".

"I was walking down the street in front of the abandoned factory when I saw a girl sitting on top of a smokestack. I was naturally surprised by this, and, perhaps against my better judgement, I went to investigate.", Shu said, "I climbed the stack and spoke to the girl, who claimed her name was, or at least sounded like 'Lala-Ru'. Shortly after encountering Lala-Ru, a group of soldiers and several of the exoskeletons and those weird "snake-mechs", led by a woman in a brown uniform appeared. I grabbed a 2x4 in an attempt to defend myself. To be honest, looking back on it, it's amazing I wasn't killed right there.".

"Were they associated with the same faction responsible for the Ginza incident?", Komakado asked, "the 'Tabul Empire'?"

"No", Shu said, "I found myself inside the ruins of some kind of ship stuck in the middle of a desert, in the middle of a desert. I later learned it was, in fact, some kind of airship. It sounds ridiculous, but they called it "Hellywood". The ship itself was the base of a warlord named Hamdo."  
"Hell and Hollywood", Yanagida commented, "I like these Hamdo guy's sense of humor"

"More importantly, it implies the Special Region has been in contact with the outside world before", Komakado said, "In any case, did you hear anything about the 'Tabul Empire'"

"Nothing about an empire", Shu said, "But I did meet someone named Tabul, a teenage soldier, one of many child soldiers in Hamdo's service, a blonde haired psycho with a Dragonball Z haircut. Seems to be obsessed with war and violence, believed that strength was the only thing that mattered. I thought he died, but, if he is still alive, well… I can't say he's your man, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's become a warlord by now.

"Do you know anything else about this 'Tabul'?", Yanagida asked.

"No", Shu replied, "… should I continue?"

"Yes, you may continue", Yanagida replied.

For the next 10 minutes or so, Shu recounted his time in the parallel world, how Hamdo was obsessed with finding that 'Lala-Ru' girl, how he believed this pendant she had was the key to a massive reservoir of water, which he thought he could use to somehow fuel the airship.

"Fuel the airship with water?", Yanagida asked.

"I don't know how it worked, and to be honest, at that point, I didn't really care", Shu said, "Maybe some kind of electrolysis device to produce hydrogen?"

"In any case", Shu continued, "I refused to sell out Lala-Ru to Hamdo, so he got really pissed off and he had me thrown in prison with this other girl, about 14 years old, an American named Sara Ringwald."

"An American?", Hazama asked through the video screen.  
"This… complicates things", Komakado said

"Yes", Shu replied, "She should still be in the Special Region, when I made it back, she refused to come with me".

After that, Shu briefly explained the circumstances of Sara's entry into the parallel world, how she was kidnapped by in a previous "other-worlder" incursion into the US when she was mistaken for "Lala-Ru". How she fled "Hellywood" after being raped by a soldier, and escaped to a village in canyon called "Zari-Bars", and how Shu later caught up with her after he too fled the remains of the warship.

"In any case, there is something I think you might be interested in", Shu said, "About the presence of weapons of mass destruction in the Special Region".

"WMDs? Tell us everything you can!", Hazama, sounded even more shocked than when Shu brought up Sara.

"It was while I was left hanging by a rope tied from my waist from the top of the ship for a night, a torture to try and force me to betray Lala Ru", Shu said, "Some kind of hovering warship tried to attack the "Hellywood". I heard something that sounded like a bunch of lines from a bad sci-fi movie- something about an 'Ultra-Microphoton Missile'. Then a massive thing that looked like a gun turret retracted from the top of the ship, and fired some kind of missile that hit with the force of a small nuke".

"Do you have any idea what the effective range of this weapon?", Hazama said, "or the yield?"

"I don't know the exact range of the weapon, but by the time they fired, I could see the target, so I'd guess no more than ten kilometers. The blast destroyed a ship that had to be the size of an aircraft carrier, if that gives you some idea of the yield", Shu replied.

"Thank you, Mazutani-san", Yanagida replied, "Is there anything else you can tell me about this weapon?"  
"It's been a while, but I can make a rough sketch of the "Hellywood" and show you its location", Shu said.

Yanagida handed Shu a pen and a loose piece of printer paper. Shu drew a shape vaguely reminiscent of the Tokyo Sky Tree- a steel tower with an observation deck on top, which Shu marked as the bridge. On top of the bridge was retractable turret from which the UMP missile was fired from. Along shaft of the structure were the living quarters and cargo bays, as well as several gun turrets on wing-like structures mid-way up the tower.

"I'm not sure how many ships like this are left in the Special Region", Shu said, "But if there are any left, I'd say they are the biggest threat. Now, is there anything else you'd like to know?"  
"Continue your story", Yanagida replied, "You said you escaped "Hellywood" and met back up with Sara Ringwald?"

Shu continued his story again, describing how Hamdo managed to get the ship into the air again, and attacked Zari-Bars, blaming them for an assassination attempt. In the midst of the attack on the village, Lala-Ru intervened, creating a massive amount of water by some means he could not explain or understand, first flooding "Hellywood", and then wide valley, creating a massive lake. Hamdo was killed in the incident. Shu escaped back home with the help of the survivors using the same device he came from, but Sara stayed behind, joining the survivors in Zari-Bars.

Shu ended his story with "I know it sounds like something out of an anime, but I swear it is all the truth".

"Since the Gate appeared, the standards of what is impossible have been radically changed. All information regarding the matter must be serious investigated", Komakado simply replied, "In any case, thank you Mazutani-san. The information you have provided may prove quite valuable."

"Is there anything else you need to ask me?", Shu asked.

"That should be everything. You are free to leave. Private Sagawa will escort you out of the base", Yanagida, "However, we may contact you again if we require further assistance."

"So I might be spending another Saturday spend being questioned about the worst six months of my life, wonderful!", Shu thought, as he followed the JSDF soldier out of the base, before making his way back to the subway station.

"Hopefully they would at least use the information to protect and maybe even improve the lives of the people in that ruined world, instead of just searching for any undiscovered oil reserves or something.", Shu's inner monologue continued, "But, knowing how we're currently arguing with China about some uninhabited rock in the middle of the ocean over just that, I won't hold my breath".

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the late completion of this chapter. I am afraid I will probably be slow release chapters from now on as reality is constantly getting in the way! I have also been struggling with writer's block, specifically the indecision as to whether to keep or cut a secondary character. At the moment, it looks like they will appear, but be "demoted to extra". To say any more would be spoil the story. Also, as for reviews asking about Sara, yes, she will be appearing, but it will be a few chapters after this.**


	4. Chapter 4: Rise of An Empire

**Author's Note: I do not own Now and Then, Here and There or Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There. This is a fan made work, which I am making no profit off of.**

 _Tabul_  
 _Warlord of the Tabul Empire_  
 _Airship "The Hammer" Currently docked in "Tabul City",_  
 _Near the shore of "The Lake",_  
 _Special Region_

Tabul, warlord of the Tabul Empire sat in a chair on top of his parked airship, which he referred to as his "Hammer", after it's appearance of a large shaft with a massive head, as well as its use in crushing his enemies.

Below him, a small collection of mud brick, stone, and scavenged metal shacks spread out around the parked airship, the settlement he had founded near "The Lake" as his capital, Tabul City. Beyond the crudely constructed walls and guard towers, and the steel gray masses of parked vehicles in varying states of disrepair, stood a narrow line of green along the Lake- farms worked by slaves to support his army.

By far the dominant feature, however, was a body of water every one know only as "The Lake", which stretched as far as the eye could see, the largest body of water for thousands of miles, until you reached the shores of the sea. In the middle of the lake, rocky islands poked up from the islands surface. A mere 20 years or so ago, "The Lake" had been a massive valley covered by salt pans and sand dunes, interspersed with small mountain ranges.

All that changed suddenly about 20 years ago, when Tabul was only a child soldier under the warlord Hamdo, but it was that moment that began his rise to power. It was that strange girl, that "Lala-Ru", who appeared around the same time as that boy, "Shu", that had proven Hamdo's down fall. Tabul didn't know exactly how it happened, but somehow when they had finally taken Lala-Ru on board, Hamdo's airship, the "Hellywood", he called it, suddenly flooded in mid-flight.

At that moment, Tabul thought he was dead, killed by drowning or the impact of the ship colliding with the ground. However, what seemed to Tabul like a fraction of a second later, he awoke on the shore of a massive body of water. Somehow, Lala-Ru had flooded not only the Hellywood, but a broad expanse of land.

Hamdo and most of his army were dead. Of the roughly 3000 crew of the Hellywood, a few hundred survived. Some of them travelled to the village of Zari-Bars, while about 200 remained under the leadership of Abelia, Hamdo's former second in command. For several years, the remnants of Hellywood formed a small settlement, farming on the shores of "The Lake" and occasionally fighting off raider attacks.

It was during one such attack when Tabul was about 20 that marked the next momentous event Tabul's rise. A stray bullet struck Abelia in the head, killing her instantly. Without a leader, the survivors of Hellywood were in chaos. With most of other high-ranking members of Hamdo's army having died in the destruction of the ship years earlier, there was no one else to lead the group. The would have been wiped out, were it not for Tabul, who held the group, which consisted mostly of teenagers and children together.

Under his leadership, the raider attack was repelled. The next day, Tabul was a hero among the survivors, who made him their new leader. Within a few weeks, Tabul gathered as many old vehicles and weapons as he could, and led his militia out on their first offensive operation since the fall of Hellywood.

A force of two heavy assault transports, four tanks and seven mechs led an assault on the raider camp, hammering it with their heavy guns. At the same time, Tabul himself led a group of infantry equipped with heavy weapons into the mountains behind the base. While the raiders were fighting his armored forces, the infantry group launched a surprise attack from the rear. They fired down on the raiders with rocket launchers and machine guns. The enemy were trapped between the two forces and slaughtered practically to a man. The few survivors were given two choices. Fight for Tabul or die.

For as long as he could remember, since he had been first introduced to the brutal nature of reality of this world when he was taken from his village and forced into Hamdo's army, Tabul had known that only the strong would survive. What Tabul desired was not simply to be strong, but to be the strongest, stronger even than Hamdo. Now he had finally led an army to victory… but this was just the beginning.

After the victory, Tabul turned his sights on several nearby villages. Hamdo would have just slaughtered the villagers and taken their children to use as soldiers or slaves. At one point, Tabul might have done just that, however, in the years since the fall of Hellywood, he had become more pragmatic. He needed more manpower to expand his army, and to kill off the villagers was a waste of a valuable resource. Instead, Tabul and the villagers made an agreement- Tabul and his army would provide protection from raiders and bandits, and, in exchange, they would provide him tributes of food and soldiers for his army.

As the years went by, Tabul's alliance, which he had come to call his "empire"- a word he had heard about from stories of the Old Civilization- expanded as more villages were co-opted into the empire, and more raider gangs were either wiped out or, as was increasingly the case, surrendered and joined Tabul's army under the threat of force.

For a while, Tabul was content to play the role of the benevolent leader, but only so long as people obeyed him. Several years after the start of his "empire", Tabul had wiped out or co-opted most of the major raider gangs in the area. Because of this, villages along the fringes began to refuse to join him and some of his own empire even declared their intent to leave and stopped sending tribute. Tabul's retribution was swift and brutal. He ordered his armies to attack the rebel villages, slaughter anyone who resisted, burn down the village, and execute the leader in the most brutal of manners- impalement, burning alive, or being drawn and quartered between vehicles. The message was clear: "Obey me or die".

Tabul gained further power when he managed to repair an Old Civilization airship that had lay in ruins of centuries. It was this vessel that became his Hammer. A rival warlord on the north side of The Lake was the first to be crushed beneath The Hammer. The warlord had send a large army to attack the ship in the midst of repairs, intending to take it for himself. Tabul fired one of the six remaining UMP missiles on the enemy, annihilating every last one of them, before sending his army to the now almost undefended base camp and razed it to the ground. In the coming years, two more foes would be struck down by The Hammer, one the vessel of a rival "shiplord" foolish enough attempt a direct assault, and the second a coalition of rebel villages.

The Tabul Empire quickly became the most powerful faction in the wasteland, controlling much of the north, south, and east shore of "The Lake", with a population of at least twenty thousand people.

Only a group known as the Alliance of United Villages, centered around the village of Zari-Bars, remained opposed to Tabul. While it never came down to open warfare, skirmishes on territorial borders were common. The AUV did not have an airship of their own, however, they did have many armored vehicles and heavy weapons, carried off by those who abandoned the ruins of Hellywood. The alliance was founded and led by a former prisoner of Hellywood, a strange woman who called herself by two names: Sara Ringwald.

When Sara heard of Tabul's acquisition of the airship, rather than surrender, the AUV placed artillery and rocket launchers modified to be aimed at high angles- improvised anti-aircraft weapons- in hidden positions throughout the canyons that surrounded Zari-Bars and the other villages, as well as the mountains above them. These positions were spread out enough that, if the Hammer were to get into UMP missile range of Zari-Bars, they would be within range of the artillery. If he invaded by land, they would simply lower their guns and cut down his forces as they entered the maze of canyons.

As much as Tabul hated to admit it, he could not risk a full-scale attack on the AUV, they were too well entrenched, and it would only take one well-placed shell to the thrusters to send the Hammer dropping like a stone. This stalemate was the state of affairs in the wasteland for ten years, until Tabul got word of a second downed airship. At first, Tabul had intended to restore it and add it to his already formidable arsenal. That proved impossible- the entire nose of the airship was destroyed, probably hit by a nuke or a UMP missile during the downfall of the Old Civilization. But in the surviving rear of the ship, Tabul's forces reported there was a functional wormhole generator.

The generator would prove a prize far greater than any warship in and of itself. After all, hadn't that "Shu" kid come through the Hellywood's wormhole generator? Tabul had heard that in his homeland, water and natural resources were plentiful. Furthermore, given what Shu was like, the people of this world were surely weak, no doubt rendered soft by plenty. If he could get seize their abundant resources, Tabul would have the power to forge an empire truly worthy of being a successor to the Old Civilization.

And, soon enough, Tabul would receive a report back from the leader of the army he dispatched to the other world. In fact, in the distance, Tabul could see the cloud of sand kicked up by a large formation of vehicles. It was not long after that a messenger entered the room.

"Sir, we have just made radio contact with Sadera and her army, they are returning with captives, including a 'gift' for you", the soldier said.

"Instruct her to report to me and present the captive, as soon as she arrives", Tabul replied.

Half an hour later:

A tall woman wearing a dark brown officer's uniform, with brown hair, bleached light by the relentless desert sun and made messy by the wind walked into the room on the upper bridge of the ship that Tabul used as an office and command center.

This woman, Sadera, was one of Tabul's best commanders, and also one of the most brutal, seeming to relish in slaughtering Tabul's enemies. Sadera particularly enjoyed cutting down retreating enemies from the back of her hover-bike using her trademark sword- a heavy-bladed chopping blade similar to an elongated machete.

Whenever Tabul invaded a new territory or retaliated against a rebellion, he sent Sadera to show them the consequences of defying him. She would give them one chance to surrender, before she cut down anyone who resisted, as well as anyone who had the misfortune of being in the area at the time.

Standing behind Sadera was a soldier, leading a second woman, bound in chains, at gunpoint. The captive was a girl who looked no older than 18, dressed in clothing that looked distinctly out of place in their world- the girl had not changed her clothes or had them washed since her week in captivity, and yet, by the standards of this world, it was positively spotless. Her skin was far lighter than Tabul and Sadera's and her hair, which fell down to her shoulders was a dark black.

"My Lord", Sadera said, "I present you the spoils."

"This will do nicely", Tabul said, "What's your name, girl?"

"N-Noriko… Mochizuki Noriko", the girl said as cowered into the corner of the room, trying to keep herself as far away from Tabul as the guards would allow her.

"Noriko, is it? Or is it Mochizuki?", Tabul looked at Noriko and said with a perverse smile, "Regardless, you and I, we are going to have a lot of 'fun' later."

Tabul then turned to the guard holding Noriko and ordered, "Bring her to my quarters".

The soldier saluted, before pushing her out the door, pistol pressed against her back.

"Well then, Sadera", Tabul asked, "Given that you have returned with spoils, I take it you have established a base in the Other World?"

"No, My Lord", Sadera replied, "There were…. complications"

"What sort of complications? Explain yourself!?", Tabul asked. His voice remained composed, but there was a distinct note of anger beneath it.

"We entered the portal and arrived on the other side. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, like stories of the Old Civilization. There were tall buildings, some of them taller than the Hammer, all of them clad in glass, and not one piece of that glass was broken. The roads had hardly any cracks in them, and no holes whatsoever, and there were more cars than I though ever could exist. The entire place was filled with were more people than I had ever seen before, far more than my army, and yet only a handful of them were armed.

One of them, a man clad in blue, pointed a gun at us. We opened fire and killed him along with a number of others on the site and advanced through the narrow streets, the only resistance was from a few "men in blue", Sadera said as she began her report.

"If the men in blue were so weak, how were you defeated?", Tabul asked impatiently.

"It all started when we chased them to this stone fort separated from the glass towers by a moat. The men in blue had holed up in the fort. They fired down on us with guns and a gas that burned the eyes and throat. It seeped in even through the vision slits in the exoskeletons and disabled the operators.", Sadera said as she continued her report, "I tried to bombard the fort with rockets, but by the time we got the assault transport carrying the laucher into a position where it could fire without being obstructed by the tall buildings, the flying machines arrived".  
"Flying machines?", Tabul asked, "Are you telling me they had an airship?"

"No, Sir", Sadera replied, "They were like the ones in stories about the Old Civilization. Some of them looked like winged metal darts, so fast that it was hard to see them, it was almost like by the time you heard them, they were gone. The others had these rotating metal device, like blades of a fan on top. The machines flew in and fired missiles at us, picking off our vehicles one by one. A few of us tried to shoot back, but they were too fast to hit. We panicked and fled back to the portal, all the while the men in blue chased after us, joined by men dressed in green, who came after us on foot and in tanks. Of the original 4000 or so, only about half of us escaped, and we lost almost all of our heavy armor and most of the spoils- we only got her and five other captives across."

Tabul listened as Sadera finished her story, sounding practically panicked by the end. "It sounds crazy, but I swear it's true… Ask the men, they'll all tell you the same thing".

Tabul looked at Sadera and spoke not a furious shout, but rather, in a soft but nonetheles menacing voice. "Sadera, in spite of your failure, I have not forgotten your years of faithful service. I will grant you a chance to redeem yourself. Your will take your forces and gather the reserves. Then, you will go to the portal, destroy the generator, and kill any of the enemy that made it through."

"If you do not succeed in this mission", Tabul finished, "Don't bother coming back here".

"Thank you, My Lord", Sadera replied, "It will be done."

 **JSDF Intel Database: XP-1 Semi-Automatic Pistol**  
 **Weapon Type: Semi-Automatic Pistol**  
 **Effective Range: 20m**  
 **Caliber: 9mm (typical)**  
 **Rate of Fire: semi-auto only**  
 **Description: The XP-1 is a blowback operated semi-automatic pistol design constructed from improvised parts, mostly crudely machined or stamped from scrap steel in a manner not unlike "Khyber Pass" guns of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most common distinguising characteristic of this class of weapon is the bolt assembly, which protrudes from the rear of the weapon, and recoils backwards when fired. The front sight (if present at all), is mounted a simple post sight, though notably taller than most in order to compensate for the large rear assembly. The weapon is typically chambered for a 9mm centerfire round with a slightly longer casing than the 9mm Parabellum, but with a lower pressure due to the poor-quality propellants used. The magazine typically holds eight rounds. JSDF personnel are not to attempt to load the XP-1 with standard issue 9mm Parabellum rounds, as the higher pressures may lead to an explosion and potential injury or death. Use of the XP-1, like all Special Region weapons, is discouraged even with indiginous ammunition, due to the potential for catastrophic failure of the poorly-maintained weapons.**

 **Author's Note: Sadera is (obviously to those familar with Gate) a reference to the original Gate manga/anime, specifically being named for the capital of the Empire. There will be a few more references to the Gate anime (as well as other works) hidden in the text, though obviously, none of the Special Region characters in the original work will be appearing.**


	5. Chapter 5: Sandstorm of Steel

**Author's note: I do not own Gate or Now and Then, Here and There. Gate is owned by Takumi Yanai and A1 Pictures. Now and Then, Here and There is owned by AIC. This is a fan-made work which I am making no profit from.**

 **Chapter 5: Sandstorm of Steel**

 _Colonel Naoki Kamo,_  
 _Japan Self-Defense Force_  
 _"Point Alpha", Special Region_  
 _August 5th, 2019, 1415 hours local time_

A mere few days after the Ginza Incident, as soon as the world beyond the "Gate", as the portal between worlds was called, had been confirmed to be safe for human habitation, the Japan Self-Defense Forces had been ordered to set up a position on the other side. Apparently Prime Minister Shigenori Hojo had successfully argued the case that, as the portal emptied onto Japanese soil, and that the land beyond it was not part of any nation, that it could technically be considered part of Japan.

The politics of the incident mattered little to Colonel Naoki Kamo, commander of the First Combat Unit, consisting of the primary armored and ground forces of the military. What mattered to Kamo was a chance to avenge the deaths of the Japanese civilians in the Ginza Incident and to distinguish himself militarily as his father and grandfather had.

The military was literally in Kamo's blood. His grandfather was a tank commander who fought against the Soviets at Khalkin Gol in 1939, and again when the Soviets invaded Manchuria in the last days of the Second World War, managing to knock out several BT-7s and even a couple T-34s in spite of the light armor and gun of his Chi-Ha medium tank. Kamo's father was himself was a career officer in the JSDF who ended his career as a Brigadier General.

And now, Kamo stood, looking out the turret of a Type 10 main battle tank, the most advanced tank in the JSDF arsenal, on the vanguard of the first Japanese combat operation since the Second World War. Immediately behind him was the massive hulking mass of machinery that had somehow generated the "Gate", according the report, part of the remains of some kind of airship. Apparently the eggheads had figured out how to keep it working and were doing research into the mechanisms, though the report of the details of the mechanism made no sense, and was of little interest to Kamo.

Surrounding the the portal was a wall of concrete blocks trucked in to the base with earth berms build up around them on all sides, save for the gap just wide enough for two lanes of traffic, one entering and one leaving, to cross. On the other side of the Gate, this was making for a traffic control nightmare in downtown Tokyo. The parts of the the machinery producing the portal were similarly protected, and the perimeter of the base was surrounded by barbed wire, earth berms, trenches, and dug-in tanks and machine gun nests. Within this perimeter were dozens of tents and a few trailers and prefabricated structures, a forward JSDF base designated "Point Alpha". Every day, the engineers erected more the pre-fabricated buildings, slowly replacing the tents. At the same time, the rest of the engineering detail was working on the largest construction project in the base, a runway and several helicopter pads in the valley to the southeast. They were currently in the process of pouring concrete for the runway.

Kamo looked down the gentle slope onto which the Gate opened up on to. The slope was a feature called an alluvial fan, a gentle slope of sediment washed down from the isolated desert mountain range behind him. The peaks of these mountains were only a few hundred meters off the ground, and covered only with scant desert shrubs, however, in the distance, he could see other mountain ranges, some of them were much higher, with dark green slopes, indicating forests, or, in one case, even snowcapped peaks. Between the mountains, lay countless kilometers of desert, covered in sand dunes and salt pans.

From the distance, it appeared to be a sand storm, but in fact, it was dust kicked up by hundreds of crudely maintained war machines, the army of the warlords that ruled this post-apocalyptic world. Spearheading the force were tweleve massive tracked assault transports, along with a few dozen tanks and over 100 bipedal "mechs". And that was not to mention at least 3000 infantry carried within the vehicles.

At the first sighting of this distant cloud of dust, soldiers began running to their posts, climbing into vehicles and or jumping into trenches. A roar filled the dry desert air All together, the post had about 1500 men; 60 tanks, about 12 Type 05s or Type 90s, the rest consisting of older Type-74s; 60 APCs and other armored vehicles of various types; and two batteries of self-propelled artillery. A small convoy of vehicles hurried back to the main base- the engineering detail working on the airfield.

About five minutes after the first sighting, the enemy had advanced past the outermost ranging mark at a distance of five kilometers- a series of red posts and a line dug in the sand, having ignored the warning signs, written using pictorial symbols to best convey the message to the illiterate natives: which included a line, a gun firing and a skull and crossbones. The message was clear: if you cross this line, you will be fired upon.

From the view in the binoculars, the enemy vehicles had stopped, with the vehicles having unloading infantry and, in the case of the assault transports, even mechs. It was hard to tell from the distance, but several of the enemy assault transports were raising rocket artillery batteries, crude weapons made in small batches with range of no more than a few kilometers, though they were often employed at much shorter ranges, but could prove devastating if they got into range. Meanwhile, the main force, including a number of assault transports, kept advancing toward the JSDF position.

Kamo's radio crackled to life, "All artillery units, commence fire mission. Do not let them get off a single shot!", the voice of General Kouichiro Hazama commanded, "Armored elements and mortars of the First Combat Unit are cleared to engage from a stationary position as soon as the barrage has ended".

"Acknowledged, sir, we have a fix on the target, firing for effect", the commander of the battery responded.

At the same time, Kamo replied at the mention of his unit: "Orders received sir, standing by to engage".

The Type 75 self-propelled artillery vehicles, located behind a wall of sand on the flanks of the JSDF encampment, raised their guns skyward and, with a roar that seemed to shake the ground itself, the guns discharged.

For about a second, the shells whistled through the air, before land amongst the enemy artillery and armor. One after another, the shells impacted, each one kicking up a cloud of smoke, flames, and sand. The drawing a line of impacts drew a line from right to left across the enemy formation. One by one, the artillery scored direct hits on the assault transports, sending the massive war machines up in flames. Several dozen tanks and mechs also fell victim to the gunfire.

It took only three salvos to leave the enemy artillery in smoking ruins. Many of the surviving enemy reserves, who massed near the artillery, ran for the hills, fleeing in terror at the massive display of firepower.

In spite of the retreat of their reserves, many remaining forces did not retreat, but rather, the surviving assault transports, mechs, and enemy tanks, began firing their main guns at the JSDF positions as they slowly lurched forward. Lacking modern optics, most of the shots fell short of their targets, kicking up clouds of sand as they impacted.

Many of the impacts did not appear to be particularly large- suggesting they were solid slugs rather than explosive shells. Perhaps this is what passed for an armor-piercing round in this world, or perhaps a solid slug was simply easier to produce in this post-apocalytic world. Of the hundreds of shots fired, none of them caused any damage, less than 20 landed anywhere near the defenses, and those simply buried themselves the earth berms defending base, or, in one case, bounded off the frontal glacis plate of a Type 90 tank with a loud "thunk".

In spite of this, Kamo remained standing out of the commander's hatch. The enemy had to be firing at more than twice their effective range. It was extremely unlikely that a shell would hit the tank, let alone Kamo himself.

"All armored forces", Kamo called into the radio, "You are cleared to engage enemy vehicles. Mortars are cleared to fire".

"Acknowledged, sir", the voice of Captain Kyouko Irizaki, a female officer commanding of a platoon of Maneuver Combat Vehicles- light armored vehicles equipped with a 105mm gun designed for use as tank destroyers and infantry support, "Ready to kick ass and take names!"

As Capt. Irizaki's perhaps overly enthusiastic response ended, Kamo switched to the intercom and said, "Gunner, target hostile super-heavy armor, 15 degrees right, distance 4000 meters."

The turret of the Type 10 tank turned slightly to the right, and the gun lowered slightly to aim at the enemy forced slowly advancing below them. Below him, Kamo could hear the autoloader push an armor piercing fin stabalized discarding sabot round into the breech.

"Taking the shot!", the gunner in Kamo's tank called out. Less than a second later, the thunderous report of the 120mm main gun of the Type 10 made this so obvious the gunner needn't of said so.

Several meters away from the muzzle, the sabot split in two and flew to the side, finally coming to rest in the sand. The dart-shaped depleted uranium penetrator, now glowing white hot from the pyrophoric effect, kept going, travelling at over 1500 meters per second. At this speed, the projectile covered the distance to the lumbering assault transport, before slamming into the frontal armor of the vehicle and effortless penetrating it. The assault transport exploded into flames as the fuel and ammunition went up.

Up and down the JSDF lines, 120mm and 105mm guns fired down on their targets as mortar shells rained down from above. Even when firing at near their maximum range, the slow-moving other-worlder armor proved easy targets. Practically all of the tanks and assault transports were burning wrecks. The smaller mechs proved harder targets, however, the with every step closer, they became easier targets, yet, with their primitive optics, they were still over a kilometer from their effective range. Realizing it was hopeless, the infantry and surviving crews of destroyed armor fled from the battle, many of them abandoning their still operational machines where they stood.

Up and down the JSDF lines, cheers erupted as the enemy was forced into retreat. These were interupted by a message on the radio: "This is the Second Special Recon Unit, hostile hovercraft sighted incoming from the north, moving on the left flank, distance 3.7 clicks and closing at high speed. They appear to be going for the portal generator!", the soldier on the other side of the radio called out.

"Understood, Second Recon", Hazama who was no doubt presently surrounded by a cluster of radio equipment and computer screens in the command trailer, personally replied, "Kamo, you are cleared to engage".

"Roger", Kamo replied, "Get a platoon of guntanks from the AA Regiment to reinforce the left flank"

The "guntank" Kamo referred to was a common nickname among the JSDF for the Type 87 Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, named for a similar vehicle in the Gundam anime franchise. The Type 87 was armed with two 35mm automatic cannon. While designed to engage aircraft, but could also be fired at ground targets- no doubt the intent in their deploying to the Special Region- the guns would be murderously effective against the unarmored hovercraft. Between them, the platoon of Type 74 tanks, and the company of infantry, there was no way they were getting anywhere near the portal generator.

Having issued his orders, Kamo switched his radio to the intercom for his command tank and said, "Driver, get me to the left flank". He was going to witness this victory first hand.

The Type 10 tank backed out of its dug-in position, before turning and advancing along crudely-built dirt road running between the tents and pre-fab structures that made up Point Alpha base. The tank turned 90 degrees down a track running up to the perimeter on the left flank, placing itself between a dug-in Type-74 and a newly arrived anti-aircraft vehicle.

"Gunner", Kamo ordered, "Load HE!"

"Affirmative", the gunner responded as he pressed the button that selected a high explosive shell to be loaded by the autoloader.

"All armored and AA units assigned to the east flank, you are cleared to engage", Kamo called into the radio headset as he watched the spread out formation of about 40 hovercraft, mostly smaller "hover-bikes" glide across the dusty valley floor. The vehicles were separated by about 100 meters in order to avoid being all taken out by one shell.

As the enemy glided into range, all hell broke loose. The sound of the main gun of Kamo's command tank was lost amidst the roar of the several 105mm main guns mounted on the Type 74 tanks and the constant "boom boom boom" of the twin 35mm autocannons mounted on the "guntanks".

Through is binoculars, Kamo could see the clouds of dust kicked up as they shells impacted the desert floor, and, occasionally, a flash of flame as a round its mark. A few of the enemy vehicles exploded from direct hits, and about eight more fell forward or spun out and crashed, the drivers presumably being killed or incapacitated by shrapnel.

There 30 or so hover-bikes started to swerve about in an unpredictable "zig-zag" pattern, frequently crossing paths as they moved at their maximum speed- over 200 kilomters per hour according to JSDF intel. The lead vehicles also seemed to be using their propulsion systems to kick up a much dust as possible. It was clear that whoever the enemy commander was, they were aggressive enough to keep attacking after the initial losses, but they were far from stupid.

The could not, however, have known about the thermal optics on the JSDF vehicles, which allowed them to see through the dust. While the tank guns found it difficult to target the incoming vehicles because of their erratic movements the AA guns managed to take out about ten of the vehicles with well-placed bursts of explosive shells. Another seven or so vehicles were knocked out.

As the vehicles drew closer, the machine guns mounted on the tanks and in the infantry trench opened up, adding their firepower to battle. Kamo grabbed the spade handle grips of the .50 caliber machine gun mounted in front of the commanders position and pulled back the trigger, firing a short burst in the direction of one incoming hovercraft.

A swarm of tracer rounds flew at the enemy vehicles as shells landed all around them. Several more "hover-bikes" burst into flashes of fire as they were hit. It was clear that even with their speed, they could not advance into such a heavy field of fire.

The operators of the "hover-bikes" must have realized this as well, as all of the vehicles made a rapid about face turn and sped off back into the direction they came. The enemy were retreating, completely routed.

 _Sadera_  
 _Tabul Empire Army Commander_  
 _Unnamed Mountain Range_  
 _10 kilometers northeast of "Point Alpha"_  
 _Special Region_  
 _2034 hours local time_

Sadera stood around a patch of sand at the floor of an canyon in an unnamed mountain range, immediately surrounded by the three most senior officers that survived the disasterous battle that afternoon. The sand had lines drawn in it with a stick, a makeshift map.

"Girat", Sadera asked one of the officers, "What remains of our forces".

"We appear to have about 300 soldiers ready for combat, General Sadera", Girat, a tall, dark-haired man in the dirty brown uniform used by Tabul Empire officers, said, "We lost practically all of our heavy armor in the battle, but we still have a few hover-bikes and a fair number of RPGs and light mortars."

"That will be enough", Sadera said simply.

"General, surely you do not mean to attack again? Even if Tabul intends to execute us if we return, wouldn't it be better to join a nearby settlement or…", another officer at the table said.

The man never finished his sentence. Sadera drew the heavy-bladed, machete-like sword she always carried with her and, in one fluid motion swung the blade across his throat. Blood sprayed from the wound and flowed out of his mouth with a gurgling sound as he fell to the ground.

"We will be launching a surprise attack on the enemy rear tonight", Sadera said furiously, "Any other questions?"

No one spoke up.

"Very well then", Sadera continued, "The remaining forces will be split up into an attacking force of 270 and a force of 30 to operate the mortars. We will take position in the mountains above the enemy encampment, and then the mortars will fire a barrage at the enemy base. After the barrage, the attacking force will make their way towards the portal generator and destroy it. After the generator is destroyed, we retreat into the mountains. From there, we simply have to wait until the enemy is weakened from lack of food and water, and finish them off.".

"Understood, General", the two officers both said in unison, not wishing to do anything to tempt her wrath.

"That will be all", Sadera replied, "We move out at sundown".

As Sadera walked away, she thought, "The truth is, Tabul Empire can rot for all I care. But no one inflicts such humilation on me and goes unpunished! And if this ends with me seizing some of enemy's superior weapons, then all the better…"

 **JSDF Intel Database: XV-4 Super Heavy Assault Vehicle**  
 **Armament: 2x 110mm main guns, 2x 77mm light anti-tank guns, 6x 13 mm heavy machine guns,**  
 **1x 20-tube 120mm or 10-tube 240mm rocket artillery**  
 **Crew: 20-40 depending on variant**  
 **Compliment: 60 infantry, 6x XV-2 walker OR 8x XV-1 Hovercraft OR 2x XV-6 Hovercraft OR 1x XV-5 main battle tank OR 3x 150mm artillery guns**  
 **Armor: Variable, typically 90-405mm**  
 **Top Speed: 18 kilometers per hour**  
 **Height: 10 meters**  
 **Length: 32.6 meters**  
 **Width: 13.1 meters**  
 **Weight: 930 tons**  
 **The XHV-4, commonly known as an "assault transport", is the heaviest extraterrestrial vehicle yet encountered, much larger than any armored vehicle ever used on Earth, with similar dimensions to the proposed World War II-era German P-1000 Ratte superheavy tank. These vehicles were only practical in the Special Region due to the lack of any form of aerial forces. The vehicle itself is a large, heavily armored vehicle with a set of twelve meter tracks forward and a seven-meter diameter wheel rearward. The XV-4 is used as both a heavy assault tank against fortifications and large enemy forces, as a transport for infantry and smaller vehicles, and, in the case of models equipped with rocket launchers or heavy guns, as mobile artillery by extraterrestrial forces. While its heavy armor limits the effectiveness of some man-portable systems, anti-tank missiles and discarding sabot rounds are capable of piercing its armor even at its heaviest point, though multiple hits may be needed to knock out both the engine and all weapons systems. The lack of the composite armor found on the XV-5 suggests that the XV-4 was not originally a combat vehicle, but rather a large mining or construction machine which was heavily modified by adding heavy armor plating (either solid steel or "improvised composite" made from layers of steel with layers of rocks, concrete, or even sand between) and armaments. JSDF air superiority has drastically reduced the numbers of these already uncommon vehicles.**

 **The vehicle is equipped with two 110mm and two 77mm artillery pieces for use against armor and fortifications, with an effective range of 500 to 1000 meters. These weapons are ineffective against the armor of JSDF main battle tanks, but can damage the tracks and sensor systems, and destroy lighter vehicles on the rare occasion that the inaccurate improvised shells hit a target before the vehicle is destroyed (indeed, on all occasions where JSDF armor has been damaged by 77mm or 110mm extraterrestrial artillery, the weapon has been mounted on an XV-2 walker, XV-5 tank, or a platform improvised from a truck or heavy hovercraft, rather than an XV-4). The vehicle also carries six heavy machine guns for anti-personnel defense.**

 **The rear troop bay, which may or may not be open-topped, is capable of carrying a large numbers of infantry and even vehicles as detailed in the specifications, as well as heavy rocket artillery, which is mounted on the roof of some vehicles.**

 **JSDF Intel Database: Rocket Artillery of the Special Region**  
 **Weapon Type: Rocket Artillery**  
 **Effective Range: 500-2000 meters**  
 **Projectile Diameter: Highly variable, ranging from 50–300mm, 120mm and 240mm common.**  
 **Warhead Weight: Highly variable, 5-50 kg**  
 **Description: A wide variety of improvised rocket artillery are used by factions in the Special Region as indirect fire heavy bombardment weapons directed against area targets. These weapons vary greatly in size, from the smallest launchers, which are little larger than an infantry mortar transported by two men, to massive 240 and 300mm rockets fired from racks of tubes mounted on the back of trucks or XV-4 assault transports. Special Region rockets are typically solid fueled, with the body, fins, and nozzles crudely constructed from welded from scrap metal. The weapons have an effective range of between 500 and 2000 meters, though the rocket may travel further under some circumstances. Weapons are typically launched from improvised tube or rail launchers, with larger vehicle-mounted launchers often having multiple tubes or rails to rapidly launch a salvo of 20 or more rockets. The rocket carries a homemade explosive warhead of varying weight, which, like all Special Region explosives, is highly unreliable and should only be handle by EOD-qualified personnel.**


	6. Chapter 6: Surprise Attack

**Chapter 6: Surprise Attack**

 _Capt. Kyouko Irizaki,_  
 _Commander of the 2nd Special Rapid Assault Company_  
 _Japan Self Defense Force_  
 _Near "The Lake", 150 km from "Point Alpha, Special Region_  
 _August 6th, 2019, 2200 hours local time_

Twelve 8-wheeled armored fighting vehicles lay hidden in darkness near an isolated butte in the desert of the Special Region, about 150 kilometers to the northeast of the JSDF forward base designated "Point Alpha". Their headlights were off, navigating using night vision optics.

Six of the vehicles were Manuever Combat Vehicles, 8x8 light armored vehicles armed with a 105mm main gun similar to that used by the Type 73 main battle tank, intended for use as fast-moving tank destroyers and infantry support vehicles in the event of a Chinese invasion, the MCVs now took on a more offensive role, as part of fast attack units for use in the Special Region. The Second Special Rapid Assault Company, one of five such units create specifically for operations in the Special Region, included six MCVs, as well as six Type 96 wheeled APCs, each one carrying a squad of eight infantrymen.

Their current position was about 1200 meters from a small Tabul Empire outpost. This outpost was one of a number stations centered around a massive assault transport equipped with an electrolysis device to produce hydrogen fuels. These vehicles were the only source of fuels for the Special Region factions, and thus often kept at regularly-spaced outposts for refueling. This particular outpost marked the furthest point several Tabul Empire hoverbikes had made it after retreating from the battle battle earlier that day.

At the command of the lead MCV was the overall commander of the 2nd RAC, a female JSDF officer named Kyouko Irizaki, known for her aggressive, yet somewhat eccentric personality. In spite of her personality, Irizaki was a highly skilled commander, a trait which earned her the rank she now held.

At the moment, Kyouko was displaying one of her more quirks, namely, that she was currently seated in the gunner's seat of the MCV. While she was not able to do so in the battle earlier today, Irizaki insisted that, as this was an ambush, and the enemy had no idea they were there, she would be allowed to take the first shot.

Kyouko looked down the gunsight, which lit up the night with the green glow of a night vision camera, centering the crosshair on the target on the forward storage tank on the assault transport mounting the electrolysis device- this one was filled with highly flammable hydrogen. She was pleased that the JSDF had already captured an intact vehicle similar to this one in the Ginza incident- it meant she was free to blow this one up.

Kyouko pulled back the trigger, sending a 105mm armor piercing round flying through the air and impacting the hydrogen tank. The tank exploded in a flash of fire that engulfed the vehicle, as well as two hover-bikes and a larger hovercraft parked next to it for refueling. Less than a second later, the ammunition in the two gun turrets on top of the cab cooked off.

"Blowing shit up never gets old!", Kyouko commented as she scooted out of the gunner's seat, back into the commander's position, allowing the usual gunner, a sergeant named Tanaka take control of the weapon.

Sticking her head out of the commanders' hatch, Kyouko heard the roar of the guns of the rest of the MCVs in the company discharge. An enemy tank parked near the entrance of the outpost exploded in a flash of fire as three gun positions and a makeshift watchtower were annihilated by high explosive rounds. The stacked logs, rocks, and sand berm that made up the breastworks that surrounded the outpost were hurled through the air by the explosions.

"All MCV units, Move up!", Irizaki ordered as pulled back the slide on the mounted .50 caliber machine gun, "Clear a patch for the APCs! APC units are to follow at 200 meters distance".

All six of the MCVs moved forward streaking across the salt pans at close to 100 kilometers per hour, kicking up trails of dust as they closed the distance with their targets. As they closed to a few hundred meters, the first shots from the surving infantry in the outpost rang out. There was a single muzzle flash from the outpost, followed by a bright light in the sky- a crude flare. The Tabul Empire, like everyone in the Special Region did not have night vison equipment- this was the only way to see at in the blackness of night now that the lights mounted on the assault transport and tank were destroyed.

Upon seeing the armored vehicles bearing down on them, about half of the 20 or so Tabul Empire soldiers guarding the outpost turned and fled.

"The smart ones", Kyouko thought as she observed their retreat.

The rest of the enemy stood their ground behind the breastwork. One of them mounted a heavy machine gun and fired at the oncoming JSDF vehicles, hoping that the gun would be enough to pierce the light armored vehicles. Unfortunately for him, the Maneuver Combat Vehicle's frontal armor could withstand a 30mm round.

"Machine gun position, 20 degrees to the right, middle of the breastwork", Kyouko called out the target as she laid down suppressing fire with the .50 cal, tracers a great green orbs of light in the glow of her night vision goggles.

The turret of the MCV turned slightly to the right, as the voice of sergeant Tanaka yelled, "Firing!".

The 105mm main gun of the MCV released a flash of fire as it propelled a shell at the enemy position, which erupted in yet another cloud of sand and debris.

Of the five or so survivors, most of them were now fleeing for their lives. Only one remained, raising his head over the breastwork with a rocket launcher in hand. The last survivor raised the weapon and took aim at the oncoming vehicles.

Unfortunately for him, he had made himself an easy target. Irizaki and the gunners from several other vehicles focused their fire on him. The Tabul Empire soldier's last stand was cut short as he was impacted several times in the head and chest by .50 caliber rounds. As he slumped backwards, the rocket discharged, flying up at and an angle, only to land harmlessly several hundred meters away in the desert.

It was clear he never intended to stop the JSDF assault, simply to distract them long enough for his friends to escape. In that task, he had succeeded. They would no doubt be taken prisoner by the JSDF infantry, but his comrades would live to see another day. Irizaki could not help but admire his courage.

As the guns fell silent, Kyouko gave the order for the MCVs to hold position about 50 meters from the ruins of the outpost as the infantry dismounted to secure what remained of the mud brick and stone shacks. It was all over within five minutes. The infantry took the 12 shocked survivors prisoner without any resistance.

 _1st Lt. Youji Itami_  
 _Japan Self Defense Force_  
 _Rear Perimeter, "Point Alpha", Special Region_  
 _August 6th, 2019, 0200 Hours local time_

The rear of the JSDF forward operating base at "Point Alpha" was the least heavily defended, being only about 200 or so meters from the main slope of the mountains. Nonetheless, a 2.5 meter wall constructed from HESCO gabions- wire mesh and cloth containers filled with earth- covered the rear of the base. On the rear side of the barricade was a second, lower layer of HESCO gabions covered by plywood on top, acting as a walkway to allow soldiers to climb up and fire in case of attack. Behind the barricade were a series of foxholes intended to be used for further protection in case of mortar or artillery attack.

Standing on top of the firing step and in the watch towers scatterred along with the wall were a few squads of JSDF infantry who were assigned guard duty, among them being the Third Special Recon Team, commanded by Lt. Youji Itami.

At the moment, though, all was quiet. Sgt. Akira Tomita, who was taking an astronomy course through a university distance learning program, looked up at the sky of the alien world, wondering if the unfamilar stars were in fact the same ones seen on Earth, simply viewed from a different angle, or whether the Gate had indeed transported them to an entirely parallel universe. Staff Sgt. Shino Kuribayashi, a female soldier with a short temper and a badge for hand to hand combat was examining her bayonet, giving the impression she was far too eager to use it for the first time.

Meanwhile, First Lieutenant Youji Itami was chatting with Sgt. Takeo Kurata in a manner most unlike a typical exchange between a military officer and his subordinate.

"I have to say this is nothing what I was expecting when I heard we were going to another world", Itami said.

"Tell me about it. I get the feeling I won't be running into any catgirls here!", Kurata asked.

"Catgirls, huh?", Itami asked, "That your taste in waifus?"

"Yeah", Kurata replied, "Well, really any form of kememomimi. What about you, Lieutenant?".

"Ideally I'd like to run into a magical girl", Itami said, "But an elf or a kuudere sorceress would be nice. Maybe even a goth loli demigoddess."

"A goth loli demigoddess", Kurata said with snicker, "If I run into one, I will report to you immediately, Lieutenant!"

Itami and Kurata's otaku banter was suddenly interrupted by a loud whistling sound, followed by a deafening "BOOM". A mortar round landed in the middle of the Point Alpha motor pool, torching several Mitsubishi Type-73 light trucks. Thankfully no one was in the vehicles at the time.

Immediately afterwards, a second shell rained down on the base. Unlike the last round, this one definitely caused casualties, collapsing one of the many tents that made up the Point Alpha base. The air was filled with the whistling of mortars, the whooshing of rockets, and the roar of explosions, as whole sections of the base were plunged into darkness as generators and power lines were destroyed.

"Shit!", Itami yelled, "Incoming fire, take cover!"

Everyone jumped down from the firing step and hit the dirt behind the HESCO bastion, hoping a shell would not land directly on top of them, as JSDF personnel took any cover they could find- ducking behind HESCO or concrete barriers, diving into trenches and foxholes, or even crawling under tanks.

In the chaos of the attack, hardly anyone noticed that, as soon as the barrage started, the observation post on top of the mountaintop was destroyed by several RPG impacts.

 _Sadera_  
 _General, Tabul Empire Army_  
 _Mountain Ridge near Point Alpha_  
 _Special Region_

Sadera lay low behind a rock along the ridge, about 100 meters from from the recently destroyed other-worlder outpost. The squad dispatched to take the post had drawn no fire- that had to mean all inside it were dead or dying, hit by shrapnel from the RPG attack.

Peeking behind the rocks, she could see the well-lit enemy base shining below them, the only light apart from the full moon in the pitch black night. From behind her, she heard the mortars-positioned in a canyon- which blocked direct line of sight from the enemy guard post- discharge.

Mortar shells and improvised artillery rockets whistled through the air, before landing in the enemy base in a brief flash of flames. About half the shells landed within the base, which was to actually relatively accurate by the standards of the improvised mortars and homemade shells used by Tabul Empire. Those that hit within the base seemed to have caused considerable damage- a few of the shells had even landed directly on tents or structures. The outlines of people scurried about, running behind earth berms or climbing into or even diving under armored vehicles for cover.

"So they can be taken by surprise", Sadera said, smiling darkly, "All infantry, forward! Advance on me!"

Even as the mortar fire still impacted below her, Sadera ran forward, leading the assault with her bullpup assault rifle- an Old Civilization weapon equipped with a bayonet and a rare low-power scope- in hand. In total, a wave of about 300 Tabul Empire infantry stormed down the mountain side, divided between three steep gullies in the side of the mountain.

They advanced until they reached the foot of the slope, a couple hundred meters from the base. There, they took cover behind the numerous boulders, logs, and other debris lying the in the mouth of the canyon. As soon as all of the 100 men in her unit were in place, Sadera turned to the rocket launcher team nearest to her.

"Fire your rockets, focus fire on a single point on the wall", Sadera ordered.  
"At once, General", the commander of the rocket squad replied, barking orders to the soldiers under his command.

With a great whooshing sound, the improvised rocket launchers discharged, sending fiery contrails into the night, before they impacted the walls of the enemy base in a flash of fire, throwing smoke and sand into the air. Four of the rockets missed entirely, while two more struck further up and down the wall, but four impacted in the same general area, enough to cause the upper half of the wall to collapse.

Less than a second later a storm of rockets erupted from the forces in the other two gullies, impacting up and down the wall. When the smoke cleared, the wall was not fully breached, but a few gaps had been breached in the top, enough to reduce it to about half its height. At the same time, the mortar barrage finally stopped- the rockets were intended to act both as a preliminary attack and as a signal to stop firing, the flames of their exhaust easily visible even from the top of the mountains in this darkness.

Sadera was confident her human wave attack would be enough to get over the top, and once they were in, they could fight the mysterious invaders man to man, where their tanks and long-range artillery would be no help to them.

"Support squads, give us cover!", Sadera ordered, "Everyone else, on me! For vengeance and the glory of the Tabul Empire, repay them with our rifles!"

At once, light machine guns- many of them actually battle rifles modified with improvised bipods and extended magazines- started chattering, sending a storm of lead towards the enemy positions. With a loud crack, rifles equipped with improvised grenade launchers discharged, throwing several dozen improvised grenades flying through the air at the enemy positions.

Meanwhile, Sadera ran forward, followed by the rest of her forces. From the other two gullies, more soldiers of the Tabul Empire poured.

 _Itami POV_

As suddenly as the mortar and rocket barrage started, it had stopped. For a moment, Itami thought it was over, that the enemy had retreated before JSDF artillery could target them. Looking around him, Itami could see that there was some damage to the walls, as well as a few tents and pre-fabs that had been hit. From his radio, he heard the chatter of medical units moving in to extract wounded - apparently some of them were severe enough that they were ordered to rush them through Gate back to Tokyo for treatment.

The chatter of the medics was interrupted by chattering of machine gun fire in the distance. Blasts from rifle grenades erupted around the wall- thankfully none of them landed near Itami's position.  
"Incoming enemy, rear side", a voice yelled on the radio.

In response the voice of Colonel Naoki Kamo blared out of the radio, "All available infantry, hold them back! Do not let them get inside the base! Get any vehicle with armor and a gun moving, hit the attackers on their flanks!"

Immediately, Itami climbed back up onto the top of the firing step, about ten meters to the right of a hole in the upper part of the wall blown by enemy rocket impacts. Through his night vision goggles, he could easily see the wave of incoming enemy troops charging the rear of the base. "Katsumoto, get that SAW set up near the breach and provide suppressive fire. Everyone else, open fire, don't let 'em through!", Itami yelled.

After giving his orders, Itami rested the bipod of his Howa Type 64 battle rifle on top of the wall and looked down the 3x scope. He placed the crosshairs over the nearest target, an other-worlder soldier firing his rifle from the hip as he ran.

Itami squeezed the trigger, firing a single shot from the rifle. He saw the enemy crumple to the ground, but the crack of Itami's rifle was indistinguishable from the roar of fully automatic fire as the Type 64 and Type 89 rifles carried by the squad, as well as Katsumoto's squad automatic weapon unleashed storm of fire towards the enemy.

Bullets kicked up the sand as tracers glowed brightly in the green-tinged world seen through Itami's night vision goggles. An explosion erupted in a group of enemy infantry about about 50 meters down the line from Itami's position- someone must have fired off a Type 06 rifle grenade.

 _Sadera POV_

To the left and right of Sadera, her army was picked off one by one. Something was wrong, the enemy fire was far too accurate… it was almost as thought they could see through the darkness to precisely target her forces. Many of those soldiers who were not cut down immediately had turned and fled back into the mountains.

Sadera ran in a zig-zag pattern, trying to make herself as difficult a target as possible. There was only handful of Tabul Empire soldiers still attacking, and they became fewer every second, picked off by a hail of fire. There was no chance of victory now, but it was too far to turn back now.

"At least I can repay these bastards with a grenade!", Sadera thought as she fired her rifle from the hip, briefly forcing several of the enemy to duck behind cover. Amazingly, she had made it to within about 25 meters without being killed.

Sadera pulled an improvised grenade crudely made from an "Old Civilization" metal can, and pulled the string on top. The simple striker mechanism activated, starting the fuse burning.

"DIIIIEEEE!", Sadera screamed in a psychotic rage as pulled back her arm to throw the grenade.

But she never released the weapon from her hand. Instead, she felt a sharp shock of pain in her chest and collapsed to the ground, dropping the grenade. Looking down, Sadera saw a gaping wound in chest.

As she tried to breathe, coughing up blood, Sadera saw her life flash before her eyes- her birth to a "breeder" in Hellywood, the downfall of Hamdo and the rise of Tabul, how she gained his favor for her brutality in battle.

But it was one particular moment that stood out in Sadera's mind in her last moments. It was when she was sent to make an example of a farming village that refused to join Tabul's Empire. Shortly before she executed the village leader, beheading him with her sword, she asked him, almost mockingly, if he had any last words.

"If you seek to sow death and destruction, beware, for you will always reap what you sow", he had said, and in this final moment, Sadera realized he had been right.

"Damn it, why do I have to remember that now!?", Sadera thought to herself. Then, there was a flash of fire, a thunderous roar, and then, everything ended in darkness.

 _Itami POV_

"Got the bitch!", Shino Kuribayashi yelled triumphantly, as one of the last enemies, a female soldier who tried to throw a grenade, fell before her rifle. It gave Itami the distinct feeling that she was enjoying this way too much.

About two second's after Kuribayashi's exclamation the grenade exploded, vaporizing the body of the downed enemy. Even that explosion, however, was drowned out by the roar of diesel engines, the chattering of heavy machine guns, and the thunder of cannon.

Looking at the source of the sound, Itami saw a Type 10 main battle tank roll up from the right side of the wall of the base, flanking the enemy. Standing on top of the tank firing the .50 caliber machine gun was Colonel Naoki Kamo himself.

Kamo's command tank was accompanied by a random grouping of other vehicles, including another Type 10, a few Type 90 and Type 73 tanks, a few infantry fighting vehicles, and even a self propelled howitzer and an armored engineering vehicle equipped with a machine gun. Clearly Kamo wasn't kidding when he said "anything with armor and a gun".

Exploding shells impacted the foot of the mountain where the remaining Tabul Empire soldiers lay in cover, blowing away multiple targets with each shot. Tracers lit up the night as they flew towards the enemy. One of them tried to stand their ground a fire an RPG at one of the tanks, only to be cut down in a burst of fire, but the rest of the Tabul Empire soldiers were in full retreat, fleeing the massive display of firepower. Between about 50 to 100 of them made it back to into the safety of the canyons, covered from the direct line of sight of the JSDF forces.

The Battle of Point Alpha has been a complete rout for the Tabul Empire. Of the roughly 2000 soldiers that were deployed, about 400 were killed in the daylight engagement, and practically all lf their tanks, mechs, and other heavy armor were destroyed. The roughly 1600 remaining survivors of the battle fled into the mountains.

Sadera's night attack consisted of roughly 300 soldiers, of which 200 were killed in the engagement, including Sadera herself. The remaining 100 or so were split into small groups, which fled into the mountains. Nineteen JSDF personnel were killed in the night attack, mostly by mortar and RPG fire, and a further 34 were wounded.

With the field army of the Tabul Empire destroyed, the JSDF could concentrate its efforts on bolstering forces, as well as completing the airfield, allowing them to employ aerial forces in the coming operation to destroy the Tabul Empire's remaining defenses, including the airship "The Hammer", and take the "capital" of the "empire".

While the Battle of Point Alpha reiterated that the Tabul Empire was not able to engage JSDF forces in a conventional battle, the mortar attack would be a harbinger of a transition to guerilla tactics by what remained of the Tabul Empire forces.

 **JSDF Intel Database: Hydrogen Fuels in the Special Region:**  
 **With the rarity of petroleum in the Special Region, the vast majority of vehicles operated by the Tabul Empire and other factions are hydrogen fueled. Fuel sources are provided by large solar-powered electroysis devices capable of relatively efficiently converting fresh or brackish water into fuel. These devices, which range from the small devices placed in vehicles to heavy designs carried on a heavy assault transport. Regardless of design, these devices seem to have been originally designed as an emergency fuel source, but since the downfall of Special Region civilization, have become the only source of fuel. Hydrogen fuels appear to have been invented relatively shortly before the fall of Special Region civilization- the atmosphere of the Special Region has carbon dioxide levels above the most extreme predictions from 2100, suggesting the present desert-like conditions that cover much of the planet are at least partially the result of a climate change associated with a severe greenhouse effect. These findings suggest that fossil fuels were widely used by Special Region civilization for much of its existence.**

 **JSDF Intel Database: XRPG-1 Rocket Launcher**  
 **Weapon Type: Shoulder-fired rocket launcher**  
 **Effective Range: 100-150 meters**  
 **Tube Diameter: variable, 40- 65mm typical**  
 **Warhead Diameter: variable, 60 - 105mm typical**  
 **Warhead Types: High Explosive (common), Shaped Charge (Uncommon), Smoke (Uncommon), Incendiary (Rare), Inert practice (Uncommon)**  
 **Description: The improvised rocket launcher designated XRPG-1 is the most common handheld anti-armor weapon in the Special Region, commonly used by the Tabul Empire and other warlords and raider factions, and is often referred to simply as an "RPG" by JSDF personnel, after the ex-Soviet RPG-7, which the weapon resembles a crude copy of. The design is so simple and ubiquitous that even small villages usually have at least one launcher for defense against vehicle-mounted raiders. The main body of the launcher consisting of a steel pipe between about 40 and 65mm in diameter, typically wrapped in thick layer (at least 2 cm) of cloth or rope glued on with plant or animal-based adhesives to insulate from the heat of firing, though wooden heat shields are not unheard of. Most launchers have only one grip with the trigger attached. Pulling the trigger activates the initial gunpowder charge which forces the rocket out of the launcher and ignites the the crude rocket motor. The rocket itself is a simple solid fuel design using homemade propellants, often packed black powder, with a tube in the rear containing the initial propelling charge and the crude rocket motor. The warhead, typically a high explosive or crude shaped charge, is located in at the end of the rocket tube, is often wider in diameter than the motor and protrudes out the end of the tube. The warhead is typically triggered by a crude precussion impact fuse. Crude metal fins are often added to the rocket. Given that rockets often don't fit the tube perfectly, the weapon is highly inaccurate, with an unpredictable flight path. In spite of the inaccuracy of the weapon, and its inability to penetrate modern heavy armor, the XRPG-1 has proven to be a devastatingly effective surprise attack and ambush weapon. As expected from the improvised design, the rocket has a very high failure rate, as much as 20% according to some estimates. In some cases, failure can result in the fuel source and warhead exploding in the launcher, often killing the user. For this reason, only personnel trained in explosive ordnance disposal are permitted to handle XRPG-1 and other improvised rocket launcher warheads. Any warheads found are to be reported and the area evacuated until the device is rendered safe by EOD.**

 **JSDF Intel Database: Mortars of the Special Region**  
 **Weapon Type: Mortar**  
 **Effective Range: max 500-1000 meters**  
 **Projectile Diameter: Highly variable, ranging from 50–300mm, 120mm and 240mm common.**  
 **Shell Weight: Highly variable, less than 1 to ~20 kg**  
 **Description: Improvised mortars are by far the most common type of artillery employed by factions in the Special Region, and range in size from infantry mortars designed to be moved and operated by a crew of two, all the away to massive 300mm mortars mounted in vehicles. Almost all mortars encountered in the Special Region are improvised designs made from metal pipes. The propellant charge, typically black powder, is often separate from the mortar shell, and some times carried by the crew in multiple small containers of measured amounts of powder. The shell is a simple metal canister of explosives, often with crude fins, activated by either an impact fuse or a timed pyrotechnic fuse activated by the firing of the weapon. Spigot mortars firing a finned projectile similar to a rifle grenade that fits over the end of a smaller tube have also been recovered. These spigot mortar designs are typically small, man portable designs with a short range (about 300 meters), but can be easily disassembled and transported.**


	7. Chapter 7: The Proposal

_Shuzo Mazutani,_  
 _Civilian_  
 _JSDF Base Ginza_  
 _Ginza,Tokyo, Japan_  
 _August 7th, 2019, 1410 hours local time_

Shuzo Mazutani was escorted by a JSDF corporal into what used to be a boardroom in a Ginza office building, until Japan Self-Defense Forces took over it an every other building for a few blocks in any direction of the "Gate" that appeared about a month ago.

Shu had been expecting this- after his first meeting with the JSDF, in which he confirmed that he had contact with the Special Region locals before, he suspected he might they might want to meet with him again. He could not have predicted, however, what they were going to tell him.

This time there was only only one man in the room, a lieutenant he recognized as Akira Yanagida, the officer who was present at the first interview, presumably some sort of staff officer for General Kouichiro Hazama, the commander of JSDF forces in the Special Region.

"Welcome, Mazutani-san", Yanagida said, "We would like to deliver a proposal to you in person."

"What sort of proposal?" Shu asked, slightly apprehensive about what the JSDF officer was going to say.

"We would like to have you as part of a unit interpreters for the JSDF in the Special Region", Yanagida replied.

"You can't possibly be intending to draft me, even with the present climate, there's no way that would get through the Diet.", Shu said, remembering that there was considerable debate over whether the JSDF should invade the Special Region at all.

"You are indeed correct, Mazutani-san", Yanagida replied, "However the National Diet had recently approved funding a sign up bonus, as well as competitive salaries for an Expert Auxiliary Officer Program. Personnel in the program will receive a 2nd Lieutenant's commission upon graduation from a short training course, and will operate in rear area. I assure you it will be quite safe. For that matter, given the unique nature of the JSDF, you can are not even obligated to stay in the service- you an simply hand in your resignation to your CO."

Shu remembered this peculiarity of the JSDF that made it different from practically any other military in the world. In order to comply with constitutional limits, JSDF personnel are technically considered "special public servants", and not obligated to a term of service once they join. Shu had heard on the news at some point that the JSDF were having issue with retention of personnel in the case of competion with the private sector.

"Safety is not the only issue, I have an excellent salary and benefits package at my current career", Shu said.

"What if I told you that you we would be willing to provide an annual salary of ten million yen?", Yanagida asked. (Author's Note: About $100,000 US).

"Ten million yen, that's got to…", Shu began  
"The annual pay of a colonel, and a veteran colonel at that", Yanagida replied, "But we believe your talents are worth that price. In spite of progress at translating the Special Region language, the fact remains that you are the person with the greatest level of fluency in the language on Earth."

"So, suppose I take this job, what sort of duties would I be expected to perform, and what exactly does this training course entail?", Shu asked.

"You would be primarily stationed at the main JSDF base in the Special Region, designated "Point Alpha", right across the Gate, though you may be deployed to villages within the safe zone if you are needed.", Yanagida replied, "Assuming you pass the a background checks and physical aptitude test, you will be placed into an abreviated training course in desert survival and basic firearms operation."

"Firearms training?", Shu asked, "You told me I would be away from the front".

"The firearms and survival training are simply a precaution in case of a highly unlikely emergency in which you are separated from JSDF forces", Yanagida responded, "and in any case, it the training is really more other members of the Expert Auxiliary Officer Program who would be more likely to spend time away from JSDF bases- field biologists and geologists studying the environment of the Special Region. In any case, in the unlikely even you are forced to use a weapon, it's more likely to be against a wild dog or a Sandtrap- one of those carnivorous plants you encountered in the Special Region in 2000- than hostile troops".

"Even if that is the case", Shu said, "You can't honestly expect me to decide right here and now?"

"Of course not", Yanagida replied as he handed Shu a large manilla envelope, "We simply wished to deliever this proposal in person. All of the information is in this envelope. If you have no further questions, you are free to leave."

"I think that is all I needed to ask", Shu responded, "I will get back to you if I choose to accept your offer."

"In that case, I hope you will consider it, Mazutani-san", Yanagida replied as he led Shu out of the room, where a JSDF soldier was waiting to lead him out of the building.

As Shu left the building, he was conflicted on whether or not to take the offer. Part of him did not want to ever be anywhere near that portal, let alone the lands beyond it, ever again. After all, he might be forced to kill someone again, or worse, be killed himself. Shu did not get flashback or nightmares from his experience, either as a child or in the Ginza Incident, but he knew he would remember the faces of those two people he was forced to shoot until the day he died.

And yet, at the same time, part of him wanted to know if Sara and the people of Zari-Bars were safe, and wanted to do anything he could to make a difference in that world. This might just be his one and only chance.

Besides that, they offered to pay him a lot better than most government employees- or many private sector employees for that matter. And besides, Shu would be able to get away from having to complete all the work that Matsuda should have done!

 _1st Lt. Youji Itami_  
 _Japan Self Defense Force_  
 _20 km north of "Point Alpha", Special Region_  
 _August 8th, 2019, 1240 Hours local time_

Two days previously, the JSDF had won a decisive victory against the forces of the "Tabul Empire"- actually less and empire and more the militia of one of the warlords that ruled the desolate world that was the Special Region.

Ever since the morning after the victory, the JSDF had dispatched vehicles equipped with loudspeakers broadcasting the message in the language of the Special Region, stating that survivors of the battle would be treated humanely, including hot food, water, and shelter. As radios were rare in the Special Region and most of the residents were illiterate, this was the best method for mass distribution command could come up with. Thanks to these vehicles, a significant number of enemy forces, at least 100 thus far, had surrendered to JSDF patrols. However, there were still a couple hundred survivors hiding out in the mountains, mostly split ito isolated groups of ten to twenty.

This mission, however, was not intended to search the mountains for remaining enemies or distrubute calls for surrender. Instead, the Third Recon Team was to patrol a route along a major valley.

At the moment, the vehicle rolled along a well-trodden path through the salt pans, with ruts of vehicles and horse-drawn carts hammered into the dry ground from sustained use. Every so often, they would drive along a section of the cracked and pothole-ridden remnants of a concrete road, presumably built by the people who lived in this world before the fall of their civilization.

The heat was sweltering, far hotter than anything Itami could remember in Japan. Temperatures in the Special Region could reach up to 45 degrees Celsius during the day, and then dropped to about 10 Celsius at night, a drop of about 35 degrees in 24 hours. Apparently the JSDF had placed orders for air conditioning units to be installed their vehicles and structures in the Special Region in order to prevent heat exhaustion. While most of the structures at Point Alpha had A/C units, installing them into vehicles had proven more complicated, and was happening at a slow rate. According to rumors floating around the base, Colonel Kamo's command tank was one of the few vehicles that had been retrofitted. For this reason, the Third Recon Team team had settle for a few dash-mounted battery-powered fans in their vain attempt to stave off the almost unbearable heat.

The intense heat had not stopped Itami and Kurata, however, from discussing their hobbies.

"So, Lieutenent, you said you liked magical girls?", Kurata asked, "Which one is your favorite?"

"It would have to be Emi-tan from Mei-Com", Itami replied, "Her outfit is just so cute and the way Hana Kanazawa does her voice… it's like I could just die from a moé overdose!"

"Sounds like you really her", Kurata replied, "As I said before, catgirls are more my taste, especially Rika-nyan for OreNeko, but I did like Mei-Com. I can even sing the opening."

"Really?!", Itami said excitedly, "Let's hear it then!"

"I'm not sure I'm that good, but here goes…", Kurata replied, before he suddenly started breaking into song. After the first couple lines, Itami joined him.  
Sergeant Shino Kuribayashi sat at controls of the .50 caliber machine gun on top of the vehicle to the rear of Itami's, her ears covered by a pair of headphones that acted both to protect her ears from the deafening roar of the machine gun and to deliver radio communications directly to her. The radio headset broadcast Itami and Kurata's rendition of the anime opening directly to her ears.

Shino stared in disbelief through rear window of vehicle in front of her, through which she could just barely catch a glimpse of the back of Itami's head.

"Who was this otaku and how exactly did he end up passing officer training, let alone be placed in command of a recon squad on the frontline of a war?!", Shino thought as she stared incredulously at the vehicle in front of her, in which Itami and Kurata were still engaged in their impromptu karaoke session.

As Kuribayashi listened disapprovingly to Itami and Kurata's rendition of the Mei-Com opening, the convoy pushed on through the emptiness of the Special Region desert, making their way towards an oasis a few clicks away in the distance.

As they moved closer, Itami ceased the otaku sing-along and spoke into the radio. "We are approaching the village of Kodah. All units, stay alert."

The JSDF had made a contact with the villagers a couple days ago, and they had agreed to allow JSDF convoys to pass through the village, however, command still did not entirely trust them, or any Special Region locals for that matter.

Nonetheless, the JSDF vehicles had been clearly marked with a piece of red plastic tape attached to their aerials. Apparently it was a local custom of traders and travelers to wave a red flag as they approached a settlement- if they made their presence obvious, it meant they had no intention of attacking the village.

As they approached within about 100 meters, the Third Recon Team got their first look at an indigenous settlement in the Special Region. The entire village was cluster of a few dozen shacks and huts surrounding the oasis. The buildings were constructed out of an assortment of stone, mud bricks, and scrap wood and metal- clearly they had been cobbled together with whatever the villagers could find. Immediately surrounding the oasis were a number of fields of some sort of crops, which were criss-crossed by small irrigation ditches. On one end of the village was a corral in which a hand full of rather skinny cattle and horses were held.

The town was defended by a ditch in front of a sand berm running around the perimeters of the village, on top of which was constructed a wall made of random pieces of stone and scrap wood and metal, about two meters in height. At the entrance to the town were a few guard posts, including a few ramshackle towers and numerous firing slits in the improvised wall.

The defenses were manned by about 20 guards, who were dressed much like the farmers within the walls, in various rags. Itami suspect they were not dedicated guards, but simply villagers who happened to be on guard duty when they had arrived.

The guards carried a hodgepodge of different weapons. Some of them carried assault rifles similar to those used by the Tabul Empire, one held an improvised rocket launcher, and the rest carried various improvised weapons that looked to have been made from pipes and other salvaged pieces of metal, including submachine guns and even cruder-looking single or double-barreled shotguns. One of them even was even holding a homemade crossbow. At the entrance to the village, one of them manned a machine gun that looked to have been fitted with an improvised water cooling jacket.

As the JSDF column moved in closer, the guards of the village never took their eyes off them, keeping a firm grip on their weapons. It was clear that, while they had allowed the JSDF to pass, they did not trust them. One of the guards walked up from the entrance of the town, rifle clutched in his hands, and motioned in the direction of a curve in the road that ran around the walls of the village.

Itami repeated the gesture, signally that he understood- he did not speak the language of the Special Region. Kurata turned the vehicle to follow the curve in the road, which was really just a line of ruts worn into the salt pan, around the village. The guards patrolling out outside of the village kept a watchful eye on the Third Recon's vehicles until they were out of sight.

The next hour or so was uneventful, with the convoy making its way along the deserted road without encountering another person. All that changed, however, when the patrol route took them around the north end of a mountain range.

From beyond the mountains, they could see a distant column of dust, the tell-tale signs of vehicles traversing the desert floor. The distant dust suddenly turned, making its way directly towards the Third Recon Team.

"Visual on incoming vehicles at 2:00, Identity unknown", Private Katsumoto, who was manning the grenade launcher in the turret, said through Itami's comms earpiece, "Looks like about six hoverbikes, and about 20 men on horseback. Your orders, Sir?".

Itami switched the radio to communicate with command at Point Alpha and spoke into it, "This is the Third Recon Team, reporting visual on an incoming group of unknown contacts at…" Itami paused for a moment to check a map, "Grid coordinates Echo-4".

"Report received, Third Recon", a voice on the radio replied, "Continue your normal patrol route. Do not engage unless fired upon".

Upon receiving the response from command, Itami switched the radio to a local frequency, and spoke the other vehicles of the unit. "All units, incoming unknown contacts, keep your weapons ready, but do not fire unless fired upon".

"Acknowledged command, continuing patrol route", Itami replied, before switching to the short-range frequency used for communication between vehicles, "Incoming unknown contacts. Keep your weapons ready but do not engage unless fired upon!"

Two of the hover-bikes broke off from the horsemen, the quickly accelerating to their top speed of about 200 kilometers per hour, sending up massive trails of dust as they blazed across the salt pan. At a range of about 100 meters or so, both hover-bikes fired off a salvo of four rockets.

"Incoming RPG fire!", Katsumoto yelled.  
"Evasive manuevers, return fire!", Itami yelled into the radio

The rockets shot through the air, swerving wildly over the desert. Thankfully, the improvised RPGs used by the Special Region inhabitants were none too accurate. Four of them swerved downwards and slammed into the ground about 50 meters from the Third Recon's three LAVs.

Two one more hit the ground a significant distance in front of the convoy, and one went high, flying right over the top of the hood of Kuwahara's vehicle, before exploding harmlessly in the desert over 100 meters aways from the target.

The last rocket, however streaked towards the place where Itami's LAV would be in a couple seconds. "Kurata!", Itami yelled.

"I see it!", Kurata replied, as he slammed on the brakes while keeping his foot in the accelerator and turning the steering wheel as far to the left as possible. The LAV made a hard right turn in the breaks squealing as the vehicle slid about 90 degrees, the tires throwing a blast of dust into the air.

The incoming RPG flew past them, landing about 20 meters away, raining clods of dirt on the vehicles. As the ringing in his ears from the explosion faded, Itami heard a "thunk thunk thunk" sound, a bit like hailstones striking the side of the vehicles, but these were not pellets of ice striking the vehicle, but lead.

The failed rocket run had not deterred their attackers, who were now splitting into two groups, the hover-bikes leading the charge at their flanks. They were trying to get in front of and to the left side of the Third Recon Team, trying to box them in and trap them between the hover-bikes and cavalry.

The air was filled with the cracking of rifle fire, the whining of hover-bike engines, the roaring of the .50 caliber machine guns on Kuwahara and Tomita's vehicles, and the "thud thud thud" of the Howa Type 96 grenade launcher on Itami's LAV.

A burst of three 40mm rounds flew towards the two hover-bikes that were making their way towards the flanks of the Third Recon's convoy. The ground erupted in front of the lead hover-bike, with such force that it was thrown into the air, the flaming wreckage doing several "cartwheels" before coming to a stop. Another grenade round landed about 5 meters from as second hover bike, riddling the driver with shrapnel. The now driver-less bike hit the ground and slid a short distance across the desert floor before coming to a stop.

The other group of flanking hover-bikes drew fire from the .50 caliber machine on Tomita's vehicle, which was manned by Private Tozu. The large-caliber bullets effortlessly punched through improvised armor welded on to the "hover-bike" and impacted the engine. The hydrogen-fueled engine went up in a spectacular fireball as a tracer round entered the fuel cell. This performance was repeated as a second hover-bike went up in flames. Meanwhile, Sgt. Shino Kuribayashi, who manned to the .50 cal on the vehicle commanded by Kuwahara, was spraying a hail of bullets, and, in all probability, obscenities at well, at the mounted raiders.  
It seemed like an eternity, but it was all over in less than two minutes. Having lost four of their hover-bikes and half of their cavalry, the raiders turned tail and ran. The two on hover-bikes drove off as fast as they could, not sparing a thought for their mounted comrades who they left in their dust.

As the fleeing raiders disappeared into the distance, Itami spoke into the radio mouthpiece. "This is Recon Team Three reporting. We were engaged by a small group of hostiles at grid coordinates Echo-4. All hostiles were repelled without casualties or damage to the vehicles. Ready to resume patrol on your go.".

"Roger Recon Team Three", the radioman at command responded, you are cleared to resume standard patrol route, Over".

"Orders received", Itami replied, "Resuming patrol, Recon Team Three out". At that, the three vehicles of the Third Recon team kept moving through the desert, leaving what remained of the fallen raiding party behind, an ever-present trail of tan-colored dust in their wake.

 **JSDF Intel Database: XMG-1 General Purpose Machine Gun**  
 **Weapon Type: General Purpose Machine Gun**  
 **Effective Range: 400 meters**  
 **Caliber: 8.2mm**  
 **Rate of Fire: 600-1000 rounds/minute**  
 **Description: The XMG-1 appears to be a general purpose machine gun designed and manufactured in the pre-cataclysm Special Region, a recoil operated, roller-locked weapon with a very high rate of fire, comparable to the M249 SAW, though some examples have been modified for a slower fire rate to conserve ammunition. The original fittings of the weapons consists of a machined steel body with plastic stock and grip fittings, however, given the extended time since production, many weapons in the Special Region have been fitted with crudely made replacement parts. Some may also be crudely-made copies machined from poorer quality steel, typically with unfinished wooden fittings. The weapon appear to have originally used a disintegrating metal link belt, however, it has been modified to feed from various improvised magazine and cloth belt systems, leading to frequent jams. For this reason, vehicles such as the XV-1 "hoverbike" mounted with the weapon may sometime carry four or more weapons to allow for redundancy. One of the most unusual improvised features commonly seen on the weapon is an improvised water-cooling jacket made from crudely shaped sheet metal, placed on the weapon as spare barrels to replace overheated ones are rare.**

 **JSDF Intel Database: Shotguns of the Special Region**  
 **Weapon Type: Shotgun/Smoothbore firearm**  
 **Effective Range: 20-40 meters**  
 **Caliber: Variable, ranges from about 10-20mm, or 17mm shells**  
 **Rate of fire: Variable**  
 **Description: Among the most common firearms in the Special Region are smoothbore weapons, many of which are constructed from metal pipes and other improvised materials. Most Special Region shotguns are used by farmers and others not associated with a major militia, and are typically single shot weapons operated by a crude precussion cap, though some utilize simple flintlock-like mechanisms. These single shot weapons may have one or multiple barrels, with examples with up to four barrels being found. Occasionally, an example with a crude pepperbox or revolver mechanism for up to six shots with also be recovered. Regardless of action, the weapons use separate cap, ball, and powder like a 19th century weapon, making the revolver variants in particular very dangerous to use because of the danger of chain fire, or all chambers firing at once, potentially maiming the user's hand. Single shot shotguns may also be favored for use with stick-type rifle grenades in order to reduce wear on more valuable rifled firearms. In addition to single-shot muzzle loaders, several models of pre-catacylsm pump-action, lever-action, and semi-automatic shotguns using 17mm shells roughly comparable to a 12-gauge shell have also been recovered from the Special Region. The projectiles used by Special Region shotguns are as varied as the designs, and may include lead shot, nails and other metal scraps, solid metal slugs, or even pebbles and gravel.**

 **Author's Note: To those asking in the comments, I wrote Shu as being single as of the time of the incident in order to the open up the possibility of a relationship after future events.**


	8. Chapter 8: A Red Circle on the Wings

**Author's note: I do not own Gate or Now and Then, Here and There. Gate is owned by Takumi Yanai and A1 Pictures. Now and Then, Here and There is owned by AIC. This is a fan-made work which I am making no profit from.**

 **Chapter 8: A Red Circle on the Wings**

 _Col. Taro Kamikoda_  
 _Japan Air Self Defense Force_  
 _Skies over the Special Region_  
 _August 14th, 2019, 0900 Hours local time_

Colonel Taro Kamikoda pressed the throttle forward as his F4J Phantom "Special Region Variant" accelerated down the new-constructed runway at "Point Alpha", the forward JSDF base in the Special Region. The Phantom was a reserve fighter in the JASDF, with the F-15J and Mitsubishi F-2 serving as the primary air superiority fighters, the "Special Region Variant" specifically was a version modified for use in desert environments, kitted out similarly to those used by the Israeli and Egyptian Air Forces. No doubt the Phantom was assigned to the Special Region due to the lack of enemy aerial threats.

This was just fine as far as Kamikoda was concerned- he had spent most of his career piloting the Phantom. He had flown the newer aircraft, and while he couldn't deny they were very good planes, only the F-4 truly felt like an extension of his body.

To his right, Kamikoda could see the radar trailer that served as the "control tower" for the aviation facilities- which currently consisted of a few helipads and the lone runway. Currently, Kamikoda's aircraft was one of only two at the base, but even now the engineering units were working two larger runways. Eventually, there were plans to base an entire squadron of F4s and even a few transports at the airfield.

The Phantom rapidly gained height as Point Alpha and even the mountain range behind it disappeared into the distance to Kamikoda's rear. Up ahead lay the large body of water known simply as "The Lake" by Special Region locals.

Once he was over "The Lake", Kamikoda did a few rolls- even after 20 years of flying, doing rolls and loops just for the fun of it hadn't got old. And all the better, in the Special Region, there were no other aircraft in the sky to get in the way of his maneuvering.

After doing a few rolls, however, Kamikoda levelled off. Today's flight was no mere training mission, but an actual combat operation, the first in the history of the Japan Air Self Defense Forces.

The target was a large tower-like structure that looked distinctly out of place in the shantytown that passed for the capital of the "Tabul Empire". Intelligence gathered from POWs as well as another classified source rumored to be a person who had found themselves in the Special Region before the Ginza incident, the tower was actually some kind of airship, which possessed considerable firepower. While this was not revealed to the public, there were even reports that the craft had WMDs on board.

Fortunately, the Tabul Empire had not launched the craft yet. Apparently it took considerable effort to launch the thing, and, considering the rarity of radio communications and the destruction of nearly all of the Tabul Empire vehicles in the area a week ago, for all Kamikoda knew, he might not even know about the decisive defeat of his forces at all- apparently it was not unusual for news to take a week or more to travel long distances in this world.

The JSDF did not intend to give them the chance to launch the airship. Last night, a Special Forces Group squad and crossed "The Lake" in a small boat and covertly inserted west of "Tabul City" as the megalomaniacal warlord called the "capital" of his "empire". After hiking through the night, they were now in position in a mountain range overlooking the city and the airship, ready to paint the target with a laser designator. That was where Kamikoda came in. He was to deliver a pair of laser-guided bombs to target and destroy the airship before it got off the ground. Hopefully, it would also take out Tabul himself, who apparently used the airship as his "palace" when it was not in flight.

Even if it didn't, once the airship was out of action, the JGSDF would begin their offensive to take Tabul City. One way or another, the perpetrator of the Ginza attack would face justice, and hopefully, they would also find the four Japanese citizens who were kidnapped in the attack. Kamikoda could only hope they were not in the airship as he flew towards his target.

For about half an hour, Kamikoda's Phantom flew over the massive lake in the middle of the desert. Occasionally the blue sheet of the water's surface was interrupted by patches of tan-colored land- islands that had once been mountain tops before the catastrophic flood that formed the lake occured.

As he approached the shore of the lake, the airship that was his target came into view in the distance, looking a bit like what the Tokyo Sky Tree would look like if you cut off the spire above the main observation deck.

At that moment, Kamikoda's radio crackled to life. "This is Saber, we are in position, target is marked. Repeat, target is marked.", the leader of the special forces squad, callsign Saber, reported.

"Roger that, Saber", Kamikoda replied, "Making my attack run now".

Kamikoda flew straight towards the parked airship. No doubt every person in the "city" had their eyes to the sky as the aircraft flew over head. "Bombs free", Kamikoda reported into the radio as he released to the pair of laser-guided bombs from beneath the wings of his aircraft.

Guided by the invisible beam of the laser designator, the bombs impacted right on top of the bridge of the airship. The entire upper half of the airship erupted in a ball of fire, destroying the bridge, fire control, and the UMP missile launcher.

"This is Saber reporting good effect on target, the entire upper deck has been completely destroyed", the voice on the radio said. They need not have updated Kamikoda on the impact of his bombs- as he turned to return to the base, he caught sight of the column of black smoke the rose from the flames engulfing to the twisted remains of the airship's bridge. Amazingly, the column supporting the tower was still standing. Regardless, it was clear that the airship wasn't going anywhere or firing any of its weapons.

From below, Kamikoda could see hundreds, if not thousands of muzzle flashes of verying sizes coming from the shantytown that surrounded the airship. No doubt anyone down there with a cannon, machine gun, or even a rifle was taking potshots at him. Kamikoda was not concerned, if his aircraft was not already out of range of their weapons, it would be in a second. The Special Region residents had never seen aircraft, and they had no experience in aiming anti-aircraft fire, let alone any specialist AA weapons.

Kamikoda's F-4 trailed away over "The Lake" without a single bullet hole, or even even a scratch to the paint, leaving behind a tower of black smoke rose above what remained of the airship that was the pride of the Tabul Empire.

 _Tabul_  
 _Warlord of the Tabul Empire_  
 _"Tabul City", Tabul Empire, Special Region_  
 _A few minutes earlier…_

Tabul stood in front of a massive engine inside a shack made from scrap wood and steel, the roar from which almost drowned out all other sound. The shack was a pumping station sending water from "The Lake" to the storage tank to the core of the "Hammer", his massive airship.

It had been a week since Sadera's forces were dispatched, and yet none of them had returned. It was normal for expeditions to the other side of the lake to take two or three days, but there had not been a single hoverbike messenger in a week. Tabul began to suspect Sadera's army had been destroyed.

Tabul had no concern for the loss of his subordinate- he still had a few thousand men at his command, plus whatever he could levy from the villages under his control, but Sadera and all the other survivors of the first invasion all said the same thing: the enemy had weapons so advanced that, if they got enough troops through the wormhole, the Tabul Empire would annihilated.

Based on this information, Tabul decided to prepare his plan to wipe out the enemy once and for all. He would drop his "Hammer" on his foes, launch his airship and fire a UMP missile at the ship that held the wormhole generator, destroy the portal and hopefully most of the enemy as well, and then send in his armies to destroy the shocked survivors. Then, he would recover any of their superior weapons that survived and turn them against his enemies in this world.

After all, they could not have very many forces in this world. Tabul hadn't even seen any of those flying machines the enemy was supposed to have- the "winged darts" and the "flying fans". If they did exist, maybe they needed a lot of prepartion to operate. While it would take him a few days to get the "Hammer" ready to fly, but surely the enemy would not be able to get their aircraft operational in that time.

As he thought this, Tabul walked up to the officer standing outside the pumping station.  
"Sir!", the officer said, snapping into a salute, "The preparations for the launch are going on schedule and all pumps are operational. At the current rate, the Hammer should be ready for launch in…"

The officer's words were cut off from a great whooshing sound coming from the sky, followed by a high-pitched whistling. Finally, there was thunderous roar. Tabul turned to see the upper decks of his "Hammer" erupt into a flash of flames. Pieces of flaming metal flew through the air, raining down on the city. The tower of the airship still stood, but it was reduced to a massive hunk of scrap metal.

Then, Tabul saw it. The sun reflected off a silvery shape in the sky, an object with pointed nose and two angular wings, on which were painted a red circle. Tabul had never seen anything like it, but he know what it had to be… the "winged dart" he had been told about.

As gunshots erupted all around him- soldiers firing on the mysterious enemy craft, Tabul drew his pistol and aimed skyward, furious at the loss of his ship and crew aboard it. He fired the entire magazine into the air, with nothing to show for it. The winged dart did not even try to evade. It was as though it was taunting him.

As the gun let off the click of an empty chamber, Tabul holstered his sidearm and sprinted several hundred meters, towards a formation of men standing for inspection. He turned to the general inspecting the troops.

"Nazar!", Tabul commanded, "We're pulling out of the city. Get all of the rapid attack forces ready to move out and load the infantry into trucks and hovercraft along with all the weapons you can fit. Have then split up into small groups and make their way to the Sulfur Pit in the Black Rocks. I will accompany you and give you further orders when we arrive. Tell Darun to take his tanks and mechs and station them in the Gateway Pass. He is to hold position there for three days before meeting us at the Sulfur Pit.

"Sir… Are you…", Nazar asked.

"Did you misunderstand something, Nazar?", Tabul asked, "Do you need me to repeat anything".

"No Sir", Nazar replied.  
"Then you have your orders, get moving. I have business to attend to before I leave!", Tabul replied.

"But Sir… what about the slaves and the fields?, Nazar asked

"Bring as much food as you have space to spare after loading the weapons. The rest, we will take as tribute from the surrounding villages when we reach the Black Rocks. Burn the fields and any supplies we can't carry with us. The slaves don't matter- leave them. If they get in the way, you're free to dispose of them!", At that, Tabul ran off again, with a confused Nazar barking orders to his men.

Tabul placed a fresh magazine into his pistol and holstered it, before running towards the shaft of the "Hammer". He was lucky it stayed intact after the explosion. Hopefully, a certain prized possession of Tabul's would be intact as well.

 _Noriko Mochizuki_  
 _Prisoner_  
 _Airship "Tabul's Hammer"_  
 _"Tabul City", Tabul Empire, Special Region_  
 _Shortly prior to the air strike_

Noriko Mochizuki stared through the porthole in the side of the steel structure that had been her home for the past few weeks, at the lake that stretched as far as the eye could see. Her body was covered sweat from the sweltering heat, which the corroded walls of the structure she was in could not keep at bay. The sweat mixed with the red dust coming of the rusting walls, only making her more filthy . She would have wanted a shower, were it not for the fact that the only her captors allowed her to bathe was when he was going to "use" her.

The first time that man, Tabul, she thought his name was, had forced himself on her, Noriko had cried, screamed, and tried to fight him off. That earned her a strike across the face with the grip of Tabul's pistol. From that point on, he always kept his sidearm trained on her while he had his way with her.

As horrible as it all was, somehow, Noriko had gotten used to the feeling of the cold steel gun barrel pressed against her temple, the pain as he beat or choked her simply for his own amusement, even the foul taste when he decided to violate her mouth. What she could never get used to was feeling after, like she had been tainted by a filth far worse than what covered her now.

Noriko has initially hoped that the someone from Japan would come a rescue her. Surely her family would not stand by why she suffered like this. Surely the JSDF could defeat this rabble whose weapons looked as likely to fall apart as fire when the trigger was pulled. And yet, in the weeks since she was taken, no one had come for her.

Horrible thoughts began to go through her head… what if her parents were killed in the attack? …. What if the government had found a way to seal up that portal or whatever it was and left her for dead? What would she do now? Should she try and run? Should she try and fight her captors?… or should she just force open the porthole, jump out, and end it all- she seemed to be at least as high up as a ten story building, it would all be over as soon as she hit the ground? For what must have been the thousandth time, Noriko stared into the distance, trying to figure out a way to escape her hopeless situation.

And then she heard it, the a loud "whooshing" sound that filled the air. Then there was a whistling sound, and then the steel tower she was imprisoned inside shook like there was an earthquake. The shaking was accompanied by a roar like thunder, but far louder than anything else Noriko had heard in her life, louder even than the guns of the invading army at Ginza.

Noriko felt the tower shake violently, oscillating perhaps a meter in either direction. Noriko was instantly knocked off her feet, landing on the cold steel floor, panels of steel falling from the roof, one of them landing only a few centimeters from her head, as shards of shattered glass from the porthole cascaded onto her back. Thankfully none of them created any more than a superficial scratch, most of them landing on the flat as they landed.

For a moment, Noriko was sure the tower was going to collapse, and yet, as quickly as the tremors came, they stopped. Noriko immediately gazed out the shattered porthole, from which the hot desert air was now flowing in. Looking directly above, she could see only a tower of flames and black smoke where the upper observation deck was.

And then she saw, the silver shape that flew out from beyond the smoke cloud, a shape Noriko had not seen since her capture: an airplane. Specifically it was an airplane with a delta-wing, which Noriko recognized as a fighter jet like the ones that would occasionally appear on the news. But this was not just any fighter jet- painted on each wing was a red circle.

Noriko's heart left at the sight of the red circle. For the first time since her capture, Noriko felt hope. The JSDF were here, and they fighting against Tabul's army, and from the look of it, try as he might, Tabul could not do anything to stop them. It would only be a matter of time now, before the JSDF rolled right into Tabul's base and took her home.

Noriko immediately grabbed the biggest piece of scrap metal she could find and wedged it into the gap around the side of the door, trying to force it open. She had to get out of her before the tower collapsed, she had not come this far to die at the hands of her own country.

After only a few minutes of struggling, the door came loose. For a split second, Noriko was free, but when the door opened, Noriko was staring down the barrel of a gun held by a horribly familar face topped with spiked blonde hair.

Tabul shouted in the language of the Special Region. Noriko didn't understand the words, but it was clear what he was saying. Noriko dropped the piece of scrap metal and threw her hands into the air.

Tabul gestured with his free hand, ordering Noriko to slowly exit the cell. He then got behind her and pressed the pistol against her back. He spoke one word. This time, Noriko had learned this word in her few weeks time her: "Move!"

Slowly, Noriko obeyed as Tabul marched her down the corridor, in the to stairwell running up the tower. She was still in the captivity of the Tabul Empire, but she couldn't help but pleased to know that soon enough the warlord's power would come crashing down around him, and more importantly, she would be going home.

 **JSDF Intel Database: XV-3 Unconventional Rapid Attack Vehicle**  
 **Armament: 2x 8.2mm or 13mm machine guns, flamethrower or six-shot rack of XRPG-1 rockets on the "head" (some vehicles)**  
 **Armor: light ballistic glass windshield (some examples), 10-20mm "head" and body**  
 **Top Speed: 120+ kph**  
 **Height: variable, 1.8-6.1 meters**  
 **Length: 7.1 meters**  
 **Weight: .7 tons**  
 **Crew: 1**  
 **The XV-4, often known by JSDF personnel as the hebi (snake) or ryu (dragon) is by far the most unusual vehicle yet encountered in the Special Region. The open driver's cab is located at the front of the vehicle, in a structure decorated to look like the head of a dragon. Twin machine guns are mounted in the head, and some examples have three launchers for XRPG-1 rockets on each side of the head (for a total of six) or a flamethrower in the "mouth". The vehicle has flexible body constructed of steel plates connected by an elastic plastic capable of expanding or contracting when exposed to an electrical current, frequently described as "artificial muscle". This allows the vehicle to contort in such a manner to allow to raise the "head" up to 6 meters in the air or even turn it around a corner. The rear is equipped with a "hover-jet" similar to the one mounted on the XV-1 "hover-bike", allowing the vehicle to travel at speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour. While travelling, the operator will often make the back of the vehicle undulate back and forth, giving the illusion that it is crawling across the sands like a snake. While it is clear the vehicle was not originally designed for military purposes, the reasons why they were constructed in the pre-catacylsm Special Region are unknown. Common hypotheses suggest it was either used in association with some sort of festival, as film props, or as a publicity stunt to demonstrate the capabilities of "artificial muscle" technology, though given the large number seen, the theory of its involvement in some kind of widely celebrated festival seems most likely. The XV-3 is less common than other vehicles in the Special Region, however, over 70 are nonetheless known to have been destroyed in combat. While the XV-3 is highly maneuverable, its light armor and open cockpit make it vulnerable even to small arms fire. Research into reverse-engineering the "artificial muscle", as well as potential applications, both military and civilian, are ongoing.**


	9. Chapter 9: Shock and Awe

**Author's note: I do not own Gate or Now and Then, Here and There. Gate is owned by Takumi Yanai and A1 Pictures. Now and Then, Here and There is owned by AIC. This is a fan-made work which I am making no profit from.**

 _Darun_  
 _General of the Tabul Empire_  
 _Mountaintop west of the Gateway Pass, Special Region_  
 _August 18th, 2019, 0700 hours_

An aging man in his 50s- an age at which most in this world would have been dead for at least a decade- in the uniform of a general of the Tabul Empire stood on a mountain ridge high enough to have tall trees growing on the upper slopes, overlooking salt pans thousands of feet below. Then man's name was Darun, and had placed his forces in and around the Gateway Pass, the route through the mountains into Tabul City.

The tanks and assault transports had been mostly placed in and in front of the pass itself, partially dug in to protect theselves from enemy fire. Many of the mechs, however, were on the mountain ridge, proving just narrow enough to be driven up some of the wider paths into the mountains. Joining the mechs were light artillery and infantry stationed along the slopes, positioned to fire down into the pass should the enemy attempt to push through.

Ordinarily, Darun would have commanded from his assault transport, but after seeing what those "winged darts" did to "Tabul's Hammer", he decided it would be safer to remain on foot in a foxhole on the summit ridge- a far less obvious target for the enemy air forces.

Darun was a general of the Tabul Empire, but was a polar opposite of Sadera. While Sadera came from within Tabul's Empire, Darun was an outsider. He had been the leader of one of the larger towns in the area, a major trading hub located around an oasis that was the largest source of water for miles around until the creation of "The Lake". Darun's hometown to about 700 people before the rise of the Tabul Empire.

Darun had led the town for over 30 years, when Hamdo deployed a raiding force to seize food and troops from them, Darun had done what they never could have expected- he hit them with a force of tanks and mechs during a sandstorm. The risky move paid off, and the force from Hellywood was decisively defeated. Hamdo's second attempt was no more successful, with Darun launching a hit-and-run raid on the invading army, before luring them into an ambush in canyon. 10 years later, Darun's was one of the villages that held out the longest against the Tabul Empire forces, defeating their forces on three separate occasions, before finally, Tabul flew his "Hammer" over his town. The airship fired down on the city with its main armament, the two "Old Civilization" railguns that were still operational on the ship, as well as two heavy conventional artillery guns that replaced two of the railguns that were no longer functional.

The first salvo alone has killed dozens of people. After the first salvo, Tabul delivered an ultimatum: surrender and provide a portion of your crops and citizens as troops for the Empire, or be annihilated.

As much as he hated to surrender to the tyrant, he had no choice- the heavy guns of the "Hammer" could rain death on his city from beyond the range of any rocket or artillery that he possessed, and that was even before you took into account the UMP missiles the airship carried, which could incinerate the entire town in a single shot. So, Darun surrendered, hoping the Tabul would keep his promise and spare his people. Thankfully, Tabul was ruthless, but unlike Hamdo before him, he did not wantonly slaughter what he saw as perfectly good assets- if he was to feed an army, he needed farmers, and if he was to replace fallen soldiers, he needed conscripts.

So Darun and the forces of his town were made a unit in the army of the Tabul Empire, where Darun once again proved himself an effective field commander, wiping out the armies of three rival warlords. However, when turned against another village to be annexed, Darun did what most in the Empire thought unthinkable. He outright refused to fire on any man who did not have a gun. For most, this would be a death sentence, but, to the amazement of everyone around him, Tabul agreed to restrict Darun's missions to operations against armies. Darun could only speculate that Tabul thought his tactical expertise and combat experience too valuable to simply dispose of. Of course, Tabul simply sent Sadera to seize the village instead, which she massacred and razed to the ground when they resisted, no doubt to make it clear that those of "lesser value" were still "disposible" in his eyes. Still, Darun was probably the only person who had stood up to Tabul not once, but twice…

And so this was how he ended up here, on this mountaintop overlooking the pass into Tabul City. If the truth were to be told, Darun did not care about Tabul himself. What he cared about was the lives of the people back in Tabul City, many of whom were from his village. Darun did not know anything about the mysterious "men in green" from beyond the portal, but he knew war all to well, and he knew that most soldiers were not the "honorable warrior" that he was. When an army seized a village or town, they took the prisoners into slavery, if they didn't slaughter them outright. He had no reason to believe the "men in green" were any different.

Then, the silence was broken by the shouts of a lookout. In the distance, Darun saw what had alerted him. A great column of tan-colored dust slowly rolled across the salt pans in the valley below. It looked like a sandstorm, but Darun knew that it was, in fact created by a large group of vehicles advancing across the desert. The "men in green" had arrived.

About a second later, Darun's attention was drawn away by a horribly familiar whooshing sound, followed by a high-pitched whistling. The crack of rifles and the chattering of machine guns punctuated the whistling. Darun knew instantly what it had to be: a "winged dart".  
Before Darun could catch sight of the aircraft, the general heard a loud explosion, and was knocked off his feet as the ground shook beneath, falling down into the foxhole he was standing in. As it was, this probably saved Darun's life, as the two aircraft returned, dropping bombs and firing missiles, rockets, and cannon at the Tabul Empire positions. Artillery pieces and mechs disappeared in flashes of flames and smoke as missiles streaked down on the tanks in the pass below, picking them off with deadly accuracy.

As soon as the "winged darts" flew away, more whistling sounds filled the air, followed by yet more explosions. The "winged darts" were gone- this was artillery fire. And yet, Darun had not seen them setting up any guns. The survivors of the Battle of the Portal said that when their artillery had a longer range then theirs, but when the "men in green" fired, they had been close enough to be see the muzzle flashes of the guns in the distance. Had they been holding back, not firing until the Tabul Empire's troops had crossed a perimeter around the base?

As quickly as the barrage came, it ended. After a few seconds, Darun cautiously raised his head above the foxhole. The top of the mountain had been reduced to a cratered hellscape, all around him were burning mechs and guns, splintered and burning trees, and the dead and dying men that made up his once his army.

As Darun gazed at the scene of horror that surrounded him, he heard a most unexpected sound. It was clearly music, and yet was unlike any music he had heard in his life, it gave Darun the impression that it was a harbinger announcing the coming of unstoppable force to annihilate all who dared stand it its way. As the music drowned out all other sound, men fled from their foxholes. Neither Darun, nor anyone else even tried to stop them. All who remained in position stared at the source of the sound. Flying through the air were about 20 objects with a rotating object, like a fan from one of the air ducts in Tabul's Hammer, on top. Darun had not seen them before, but he knew at once what these had to be- the "flying fans" that the survivors of the expedition beyond the portal had told of.

The "flying fans" released a swarm of missiles, each of them homing in one of the surviving mechs or artillery pieces that survived the previous bombardment. Every single one of the missiles impacted their targets, reducing them to a pillar of flames and smoke.

After the initial missile strike, several of the "flying fans" moved in closer and swept the mountaintop clean with rockets and autocannon fire. Finally, a second group of the alien aircraft came in and hovered above the battlefield, firing machine guns from their sides at any enemy that still resisted as the "men in green" began to slide down ropes from the "flying fans" onto the ground.

Darun had known from the moment the "winged darts" arrived that there was no chance of victory, but he would not let this battle be a massacre. The "men in green" would not slaughter his troops without losing at least a single one of their own.

As the "men in green" descended from their aircraft, Darun ran several meters before practically diving into a trench filled with the mangled bodies of several of his men. He seized a rocket launcher from the ground next to a fallen soldier, and, seeing that the weapon was still intact raised it to his shoulders. Darun took aim as quickly as possible, his luck holding out just long enough for him to pull the trigger.

The rocket flew off towards one of the "flying fans", which was still hovering over the mountain top. The warhead impacted just below the upper rotor, the explosion blowing it to pieces. One of the soldiers about to exit the craft was thrown from it by the impact- if the explosion didn't kill him, the fall would. As fragments of the "fan" rained from the sky, the aircraft it was attached to spiraled out of control, before crashed into the side of the mountains, rolling downhill for several hundred meters in a ball of flames.

Of course, as soon as soon he fired the rocket, Darun has made him self a target for the rest of the "men in green". Another "flying fan", this one a different model than the one Darun had shot down, turned its chin-mounted Gatling gun on him. Darun saw a flash of fire appear from the gun, before everything went black.

 _Callsign "Saber"_  
 _Japan Self-Defense Forces, Special Forces Group_  
 _Mountaintop south of the "Gateway Pass", Special Region_  
 _August 18th, 2019, 0720 hours_

The leader of Team Alpha of the JSDF Special Forces Group in the Special Region, a Captain with the callsign "Saber", slid down a rope from a hovering UH-1 helicopter, landing a few meters from a destroyed Tabul Empire mech. Saber was immediately followed by the rest of the squad, callsigns Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Rider, and Caster. Apparently the callsigns were a reference to some anime the Minister of Defense himself was a fan of.

Saber scanned a nearby trench, his M4 carbine at the ready, but there wasn't a single living thing in site, only dozens of dead Tabul Empire soldiers, their bodies riddled with bullets or blown apart by cannon and rocket fire. Most JSDF soldiers had not seen this kind of carnage before the operation in the Special Region, Japan had not fought a war since the Second World War, but Saber was one of the exceptions.

Saber was a veteran of the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group, deployed to Samawah in southern Iraq from 2004 to 2006. The JSDF had been deployed to Iraq for humanitarian and support purposes, and were not supposed to engage in direct combat. Clearly the insurgents didn't get the memo. They detonated an IED, taking out the lead vehicle of his convoy, carrying a squad of Australian troops primarily tasked with the protection of the JSDF- the Japanese were not supposed to fire unless fired upon, however, Saber's unit had been deployed as bodyguards to a high-ranking officer in the unit. Thankfully Saber was within the bulletproof body of a Komatsu LAV, which survived the blast and shrapnel. After that, the insurgents started firing down from buildings on either side of the road. The gunner on the LAV collapsed immediately, so Saber got on the .50 cal and started shooting. In the end, they held off the ambush, but lost two men from the JSDF, plus four Australians.

Since he arrived in the Special Region, the climate and landscape had been uncomfortably reminiscent of Iraq. At that moment, the Special Region would give him another unwelcome reminder of his time with the Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group, in the form of an explosion that momentarily drowned out the whirring of the helicopters above him. One of the Huey transports had been hit by an RPG, and was sent spiraling into the mountain.

"This is Delta 3-4, we're hit, going in hard!", the pilot of the downed aircraft called out into the radio.

Immediately, Saber turned to source of the rocket contrail and spotted a single surviving Tabul Empire soldier, wearing the darker brown uniform of an officer, holding one of the crude rocket launchers used by factions in the Special Region. Saber placed the red dot of his Aimpoint holographic site over the head of the firer, but before he could pull the trigger, several columns of dust erupted around the target. The Tabul Empire officer's body, save for his legs, was sent flying several meters through the air.

"Got the fucker!", one of the Cobra gunship pilots called out through the radio.

"Second Assault Unit, report on your status! Are you still able to continue the mission?", the voice of Colonel Kengun asked

"This is Major Ibara, Second Assault Unit. We are securing the crash site, but we are still capable of continuing the mission.", the voice of the airborne unit commander replied.

"Understood, secure the crash site and continue operations as planned.", Kengun replied.

"You heard the man", Saber said into the comms mouthpiece attached to the inside of his helmet, "Alpha squad and Alpha Platoon, Second Company, form up on me!"

SFG squad Alpha, along with Airborne Alpha Platoon joined up along the northern edge of the landing zone. They were tasked with the initial assault on the Tabul Empire positions running along the top of a cliff known as the "The Lookout". The positions were a series of mortar pits, machine gun nests, and sniper's positions, all connected by tunnels constructed from trenches carved into the rock and covered by a log roof and over two meters of earth and rocks.

At Saber's command, the fireteam advanced slowly and cautiously down the ridgeline, into the coniferous forest that surrounded the LZ, the Saber and the rest of the SFG team taking point. The forest consisted of relatively widely spaced pine-like trees about 10 to 20 meters tall, with about 3-4 meters separating the trunks of the trees. It was hard to believe an alpine forest such as this was, in fact, located in the middle of a desert, let alone one on another planet. In stark contrast to the chaos that took place mere moments earlier, the forest was silent, except for the crunching of dead needles under their feet and the sounds of some unseen wildlife coming from the trees, presumably whatever occupied a similar niche to birds and rodents on this world. It was almost too quiet..

"Keep an eye out for any sign of hostiles or IEDs", Saber said into his radio headset, "You spot anything, I want to know about it!"

"Understood, sir", several voices spoke into Saber's ear from his headset as quietly as possible as they crept through the forest.

The fireteam advanced about about a kilometer and a half without no signs of the enemy, before they made it to the edge of the forest. Less than 100 meters ahead of them was the edge of the forest. Beyond that was a clearing which ended in a vertical wall of solid limestone that dropped 300 meters down to the Gateway Pass below.

The clearing was a scene of devastation covered with craters from bomb and artillery impacts. The earth and log roofs had been blown off the fighting galleries at the edge of the cliff, revealing the trenches they covered. Further from the cliff, Saber could see the remains of mortar pits and the trenches that connected the mortar pits to the fighting gallery. The entire area was strewn with splintered logs and shattered stones that had once been part of fortifications, as well as destroyed weapons and mangled corpses- the ruins of the once-mighty army of the Tabul Empire. There was no sign of any surviving enemy troops.

In spite of the ruined state of the position, "This is Callsign Saber, SFG Squad Alpha", Saber said into his radio headset, "Nearing the objective now. Archer, take a SAW team from the Airborne unit and set up overwatch on that ridge crest about 100 meters to the right".

"Roger, moving into position now", Archer, the SFG unit marksman replied as he walked towards the ridge crest, which overlooked both the ruins of the objective, as well as the gully to the right of the cliff, up which ran the only path up from the bottom of the pass.

"Lancer", commanded the SFG support gunner, "set up on the large boulder near the edge of the forest. Everyone else, spread out and advance to the edge of the forest. Keep your eyes to peeled for tangoes".

As the JSDF troops neared the edge of the forest, the sound of gunfire as flashes for fire emerged from the various craters and trenches surrounding the ruined fortifications. At least 25 Tabul Empire troops had emerged from their hiding places and opened fire on the JSDF troops at the edge of the forest.

"Contact!", Saber heard the voice of Archer yell, "Multiple tangoes in the craters!".

Seconds later, the crackling of the weapons of the JSDF forces added to the cacophony of the ambush.

Saber ran for a boulder lying on the slope about five meters from his position, behind which Lancer, another soldier in Saber's SFG squad, as well a JSDF airborne soldier were taking cover. As he was less than a meter from the boulder, Saber heard a what sounded like a piece of stone, presumably chipped off the boulder by a stray bullet, impact his Kevlar helmet. In the chaos of battle, it barely even registered. As he reached the relative safety of the boulder, he heard Lancer open up with his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, firing off a burst of fire in the direction of the ruined fortifications.

Less than a second later, a roaring that drowned out even the SAW rang out, followed by an even louder explosion. A Tabul Empire soldier had fired a rocket launcher into the JSDF squad, which detonated as it impacted a tree, severing the trunk and sending spray of splinters everywhere. Soon after, Archer picked off the RPG gunner with a well-placed shot from his HK-417 Marksman Rifle, but the damage was done, at least two soldiers from the Airborne Unit were hit.

"RPG!", Saber only barely heard a voice shout, "Man down, I need a medic up here!

"All units!", Saber yelled into his radio head set, "Suppressing fire, give our medics some cover!"

As he spoke, Saber loaded a 40mm high explosive round into the M203 grenade launcher under the barrel of his carbine, before peeking out around the corner for a fraction of a second, just long enough to locate the muzzle flashes from what appeared to be a mounted machine gun about 100 meters distant in a trench that had once been part of the position at the edge of the cliff. The Tabul Empire soldiers had turned the gun around from its original position overlooking the pass it to fire on the incoming JSDF airborne troops from higher on the mountain. Saber raised the grenade launching sight on the M4 and adjusted it to the correct distance, before peering around a second time, taking aim, and squeezing to the trigger on the M203.

With a dull thud, the 40mm grenade round shot out of the barrel of the launcher and flew through the air in an arcing trajectory. The explosive shell landed in the trench, about a meter from the machine gun nest and exploded in a cloud of fire, dust, and smoke as gun and crew alike were thrown from the trench by the force of the blast.

Less than a second after Saber's grenade landed, the more explosions erupted from around the cratered ruins of the Tabul Empire position, Type 06 Rifle Grenades that the Airborne forces carried instead of the M203, which was only used by JSDF Special Forces.

As soon as the smoke cleared, the remaining Tabul Empire soldiers, about ten in number all got up. One of them placed an automatic rifle with an extended magazine and bipod, an improvised light support weapon, on the rim of a crater and opened fire, presumably attempting to provide covering fire for the others to retreat. Unfortunately for him, he was right in Saber's line of sight. Saber immediately fired a three-round burst from his M4, causing the man keel over and fall back into crater. The rest of the Tabul Empire soldiers faired no better. Trapped between the JSDF and the cliff behind them, they were cut down by a storm of bullets as they tried in vain to flee over the broken ground to the path down that was their only escape.

After several seconds of silence, Saber spoke into his headset, "Lancer and Archer, hold position and provide overwatch with Section Bravo, rest of you, advance on the objective with Airborne Sections Alpha and Charlie.

As soon as he finished giving the order, Saber broke cover and advanced as quickly as he could over the cratered ground towards the ruined position along with the rest of his squad along with about 25 men from the airborne platoon towards the objective. Saber weaved between two craters, before dropping a pit containing the twisted remains of a mortar, along with the mangled bodies of several Tabul Empire soldiers.

In contrast to the firefight of moments before, the ruined base was covered by an almost deathly silence, to the point that everyone could hear the sounds of disgust from the soldiers several meters away.

"I think I might throw up", Saber heard a man say somewhere to his left  
"I hear you, basic can't prepare you for this shit", another said in response.

"Half these guys are just kids. This is some fucked up place we walked into", said a third man.

Many of them had seen combat during the defense of Point Alpha, but, except for the ones that were unfortunate enough to be tasked with burying the countless dead, they had not seen the charred and mangled bodies, smelled the stench of death up close.

The point man of Saber's squad, callsign Berserker, entered a section of the positions that remained intact even after the artillery strikes. The fighting position consisted of a tunnel created digging a roughly two and a half meter deep trench at the edge of the cliff, and then covering it with a roof of logs and over 30 cm or rocks and soil. Within the dugout, holes had been carved into the rocks on the sides of the tunnel, creating firing ports, angled down to fire into the pass.  
"Dugout is clear, but", Berserker called out over the radio, "Reporting three wounded enemy in here."

"Get a medic up there, and try and stabilize them.", Saber commanded.

"Roger", a soldier from the Airborne platoon replied, "Alpha Platoon medic section, moving up!"

Suddenly, the medic's reply was broken by the sound of a burst of gunfire from the pass below. Saber recognized the sound of the gunshots as Special Region weapons. Less than a second later, Archer's HK-417 replied, followed by one of the SAWs in the Airborne force.

"What's going on up there, Archer, report!"

"Group of about 40 foot mobiles attempting to advance up the path to the pass, supported by three mechs, distance 1200 meters. We have the infantry suppressed, but those mechs might be a problem if they can get into a position where they can fire on us.", Archer replied

The walls of the Gateway Pass were so steep that a mech in the bottom of the pass could not elevate it's gun high enough to fire on troops in the defensive positions above. This was a defensive feature that made the pass practically impregnable, at least until the JSDF showed up with their helicopters. However, unlike the larger tanks and assault transports, the mechs were narrow enough to climb up the path to the top, albeit very slowly, and were armored against small arms fire. Fortunately for the JSDF, this problem, like most others they had faced in the Special Region, was one they had the technology to solve…

"Alpha Platoon, get and LMAT over to the overwatch position, you are cleared to engage the mechs in the valley floor.", Saber called out over the radio, "Archer, keep up the suppressing fire!"

"Roger, LMAT team moving to position", the LMAT operator replied. The Type 01 LMAT was a man-portable, fire-and-forget anti-tank missile launcher similar to the US military's FGM-148 Javelin missile, equipped with a tandem-charge warhead capable of destroying targets equipped with explosive-reactive armor. It would make short work of comparatively weakly armored Special Region vehicles.

Less than a minute later, the two-man team operating the LMAT launcher were in position. The gunner looked into the infra-red scope attached to the launcher and lined up his target, the first of the three mechs advancing up the hill.

"Target locked!…", the gunner called out, "Backblast clear…. Firing!"

The LMAT missile shot several meters out of the launcher, propelled by the kicker charge, before the main rocket motor ignited with a roar that drowned out even the sound of the Airborne unit's SAW, which was still laying down suppressive fire on the advancing Tabul Empire infantry.

The missile flew through the air in a streak of fire like a meteor, the heat-seeking sensor steering it directly towards the front of the enemy mech. As the missile streaked towards them, the Tabul Empire soldiers ran in all directions, trying to get to anything that could be used for cover. The shaped charge warhead cut through the steel armor of the war machine like a knife through butter.

The mech erupted in a flash of flames- this one was a variant armed with a flamethrower. The sheet of flames engulfed a few infantry who could not get far enough away from the mech in time. As the explosion subsided, the fallen mech blazed like a torch, a column of black smoke markings the final resting place of those unfortunate enough to have been caught within the flames.

The LMAT team reloaded and fired their weapon two more times, destroying the two other mechs, but in truth, they needn't have bothered. As soon as the first mech was destroyed, the crews of the other two vehicles had abandoned their vehicles and fled along with the surviving infantry.

As the last stragglers of the Tabul Empire troops fled below him, "encouraged" by a few SAW bursts, Saber called into the command, reporting that the east side of the pass was in JSDF hands

 _Colonel Naoki Kamo_  
 _Japan Self-Defense Forces_  
 _Salt pan below the "Gateway Pass", Special Region_  
 _August 18th, 2019, 0800 hours_

Colonel Naoki Kamo looked into the screen of the C4I, or Command, Control, Communication, Computer, and Intelligence System of his command variant of the Type 10 main battle tank as it rolled across the desert. With this system, he could connect to the computer network of the entire First Combat Unit, including both vehicles and the infantry's outdoor computer system Regiment Command Control System (ReCS) as well as Kengun's helicopters of the Third Combat Unit.

By bringing up the on-screen map, could see the locations of all forces presently engaged in the operation. Apparently the eggheads had found a way to use this feature in on an alien world without GPS satellites using data from drones flying over the unit and cross referencing it with the vehicle's own sensor systems and aerial photos and terrain models. Truly the Type 10 was a next-generation machine for high-tech warfare.

As such, apart from his command section, there were only two other platoons of Type 10s in the Special Region, led by Captain Chouno and Lt. Kuroi. They were only a small unit intended as a sort of field test of the vehicle under combat conditions, the rest of the Type 10s remained Earthside. There was a similar sized unit of Type 90s for similar purposes, but the vast majority of the tanks in the Special Region were Cold War-era Type 74s.  
The tanks, however, were only playing a role in the last part of this operation, the final blow to finish off anything that survived the air strikes, artillery, and airborne forces. Kamo and his Combat Unit 1, consisting of ground forces, had their moment in the "spotlight" during the Battle of Point Alpha, as had Kamikoda's Air Self-Defense Force detachment during the air strike on Tabul City. Now it was Colonel Kengun and his helicopters and air cavalry's turn. The air cavalry commander wasted no opportunity to turn the operation into a spectacle of shock and awe, literally blaring Ride of the Valkyries from his helicopters as they went in on their attack run, in an homage to Apocalypse Now.

After watching the operation unfold on the C4I screen for the better part of an hour, the report that the the airborne forces had taken the mountaintop positions overlooking the pass and eliminated any enemy armor within the pass itself. Now it was finally Kamo's turn to attack.

"First Combat Unit, Move out!", Kamo ordered through the radio. At once, the air was filled with the roar of the engines of hundreds of tanks and other armored vehicles as the symbols on Kamo's C4I screen began to move across the map. Kamo's command section was at the head of Alpha Squadron, consisting of eight Type 10 and eight Type 90 main battle tanks, along with two other squadrons of tanks. Along with Bravo and Charlie, each consisting of fifteen Type 74 tanks, they would spearhead the attack on the Tabul Empire defenses directly in front of the pass, while Delta and Echo squadrons would attack the defenses on the slopes east and west of the pass. To aid in this, Delta and Echo squadrons each has a battery of Type 87 self-proppelled anti-aircraft guns attached to them. These vehicles, commonly known as "guntank", were obsolete in their intended role, but made for murderously effective anti-personnel weapons capable of being elevated to fire on positions on the mountainsides.

As the tanks advanced across the salt flat, Kamo switched the screen of the C41 to display an exterior view of the tank, with the map visible in the corner. Up ahead lay the Tabul Empire defenses, or what remained of them after the air strikes and artillery had taken their toll. Nonetheless, the radio began to crackle to life with targets- clearly at least some of the Tabul Empire had some fight in them.  
"All units", Kamo spoke into the radio, "You are authorized to engage hostile forces at will, prioritize armored targets", before switching to communicate with the command section, consisting of his and one other Type-10, "Target, 1500 meters, TRP 2, assault transport, sabot, fire when ready."

A couple seconds later, the gunner, a Sergeant named Tanimoto called out, "On the way!", before his voice was drowned out by the roar of the 120mm main gun. Kamo's tank, along with the other vehicle in the command section fired at the assault transport. The two discarding sabot rounds punched through the frontal armor, setting off the ammunition and fuel in a great ball of flames the hurled the four turrets on the corner of the vehicle through the air.

"Target destroyed", Tanimoto called out.

Soon afterwards, the radio crackled to life with firing commands from the various platoon leaders. "Contact, three tanks, three mechs, sabot, 1400 meters, TRP 3, on my command… Fire!", a female voice that Kamo recognized as that of Captain Emi Chouno, the only female platoon commander in the regiment, rang out.

Chouno's command was far from the only one. Symbols denoting weapons fired and shell impacts popped up all across the map on C4I screen, as the markers of the individual JSDF platoons and sections advanced steadily toward the Tabul Empire lines.

Up and down the line, the few Tabul Empire vehicles that survived the aerial and artillery bombardment erupted into flames, while not a single round flew towards the JSDF armor. Kamo suspected most of the vehicles had been abandoned by their crews after they witnessed the first display of JSDF firepower.

As the forward elements of the JSDF forces advanced toward the remains of the Tabul Empire lines, a single mech stepped out from behind the side of a burning assault transport. The vehicle managed to get off a single shot with its cannon. The shell impacted directly in front of the tracks of the a Type 74 tank. The crew were unharmed, but the vehicle's tracks were unseated by the explosion.

Kamo's C41 map marked the vehicle as disabled and allowed him immediately direct a section of two Type 74s to defend the vehicle until it was safe to recover it. As it was, it was probably an unnecessary precaution. Literally one second after the mech fired, it was struck by fire from multiple vehicles and reduced to a burning wreck. As the JSDF tanks advanced with 1000 meters of the Tabul Empire lines, some of the survivors tried to get up form their positions, most of them probably trying to flee. A storm of machine gun fire sent them diving back into cover.

The first line of defense was taken with practically no resistance, save for a single shell that did not kill even one JSDF soldier. As the infantry gathered up the shell-shocked prisoners, the forward elements kept moving. The two flanking forces began opening up on the surviving Tabul Empire positions on the slopes to either side of the pass, the Type 87 "guntanks" sweeping the mountainside with the 35mm guns as Kamo's tanks punched through the pitiful remnants of the forces guarding the entrance to the pass with almost no effort whatsoever. After being pounded by air force and artillery, they had no fight left in them.

Beyond the second line, Kamo and his forces filed through the pass, which had already been cleared of enemies by the Special Forces and heliborne troops. The column was only delayed when they had to push a wrecked Tabul Empire tank out of the road. Less than an hour after they set off from their starting position, Colonel Kamo and his tanks were bearing down on the collection of crudely built structures surrounding a ruined airship that Tabul has called a "city".

 _Analysis_

The engagement that would become known as the Battle of the Gateway Pass was, like the Battle of Point Alpha before it, a rout. In about two hours, the Japanese destroyed 268 of the roughly 300 Tabul Empire armored vehicles involved the battle, with most of the remainder being abandoned as their crews retreated. Of the roughly 2000 Tabul Empire troops, about 675 were killed, while many of the remainder either fled or surrendered. Many of those who fled would later surrender after the fall of Tabul City later that day. The JSDF losses were very light, consisting of only 11 KIA and a further 14 wounded, mostly

In spite of the rapid capture of the pass, the battle was a successful delaying action, as the four days the JSDF needed to gather the men and materiel for the attack bought Tabul and at least 2000 Tabul Empire soldiers to disperse into various locations deeper in the Empire, including a large number who retreated to an extinct volcanic plateau known as "The Black Rocks". This event marked the end of any attempt at conventional warfare by the Tabul Empire, and the beginning the guerilla phase of the Special Region Conflict.

 **JSDF Intelligence Database: The Lookout**

 **Located on a cliff overlooking the "Gateway Pass" on the south side, "The Lookout" was one of the most heavily defended position in the Special Region, thought to be impregnible before the arrival of the JSDF.**

 **The main fighting gallery consisted of a three-meter-deep trench carved into solid rock at the edge of the cliff with a roof constructed of timbers and covered with up to a meter of earth, this position was highly resistant to all but a direct hit from heavy Special Region artillery. Holes were carved in the outer wall of the fighting tunnel to act as firing ports, most of them angled so as to allow the defenders to fire down into the pass.**

 **The gallery had multiple machine gun nests placed at regular intervals. The only open positions along the side of the cliff were open-topped gaps for rocket launchers- the backblast necessitating their open design. As the rocket positions were intended for the firer to briefly enter the gap only long enough to fire, however, the open nature was considered to be of little detriment, as "The Lookout" is designed to be positioned to be above the maximum elevation of most Special Region (and indeed, many JSDF) vehicle armaments, while the RPG gunners could fire down on the vehicle's weaker rear armor.**

 **Further up the slope, connected to the fighting gallery by covered trenches were eight mortar pits positioned to fire down into the pass on any attackers attempting to force their way in the pass. These, along with heavier artillery further upslope could fire down on attackers both within the pass and approaching from the west.**

 **The JSDF seized the positions using a heliborne assault, first taking the artillery batteries on the ridges above "The Lookout", before hitting "The Lookout" from the lightly defended rear.**

 **JSDF Intel Database: XV-5 Main Battle Tank**  
 **Armament:** **1x 110mm main gun, 1x 13mm or 8.2mm machine gun, 1x 8.2mm co-axial machine gun,**  
 **Crew:** **4**  
 **Armor:** **Composite armor, RHA equivalent unknown pending testing**  
 **Top Speed:** **70 kilometers per hour**  
 **Height:** **2.4 meters**  
 **Length:** **7.4 meters**  
 **Width:** **3.3 meters**  
 **Weight:** **60 tons**  
 **The XV-5 is by far the most advanced vehicle in the Special Region, and one of the few which appear to have actually been constructed for pre-catacylsm military service. The vehicle is similar in appearance to a modern main battle tank, with a low profile and a large-caliber main gun, mounted on two tracks. The vehicle is powered by a hydrogen fueled engine with a solar-powered electrolysis device for producing fuel from water. While this was presumably once an emergency fuel supply, these devices are now the only source of fuel in the Special Region. The vehicles' armor is a composite of steel, ceramic, and plastics, and may have once been comparable or even superior to modern composites, though deterioration from the long-time period since it was construction mean that it can be knocked out by standard 120mm discarding sabot rounds.**

 **The 110mm main gun is a smoothbore weapon identical to the weapon seen mounted in static positions, the XV-4 Super-Heavy Assault Vehicle, and various other improvised heavy fighting vehicles in the Special Region. It is likely the examples in other mountings were scavenged from destroyed XV-5s. The shells fired by the gun are improvised projectiles, often using separate propellant charges, and are as such, prone to misfires or even catastrophic accidents. The rangefinding and ballistic computer systems, on the rare occasions where they are still intact, are not calibrated for use with these improvised shells. This, along with the poor condition of the gun itself, limits the effective range of the gun to about 500 to 1000 meters for a tank-sized target. Three shell types are known to exist, with two most common being a simple solid projectile intended for use against armor, and a crude high explosive shell. Less common are improved shaped charge rounds. All of these projectiles are generally ineffective the armor of JSDF main battle tanks (though they can damage the tracks and sensor systems). The weapon is also sometimes loaded with a propellant charge and a ceramic container of stones or metal scraps as an improvised canister shot.**

 **XMG-2 Heavy Machine Gun**  
 **Weapon Type:** **Heavy Machine Gun**  
 **Caliber:** **13mm**  
 **Feed System:** **variable, 50 or 100-round drums, 100 or 200-round cloth belts common**  
 **Action:** **Short Recoil**  
 **Rate of Fire:** **~500 rpm**  
 **Effective Range:** **up to ~1000 meters vs personnel, 200 meters vs light armor**  
 **The Extraterrestrial Machine Gun, Second Type Encountered, or XMG-2 is the most common heavy machine gun design encountered in the Special Region. While the design is believed to have originated from the defunct Special Region civilization, some examples were manufactured by gunsmiths after the break down of civilization in the Special Region. The weapon operates on a relatively simple short recoil principle, similar to the Browning M2 .50 caliber machine guns, which it was presumably analogous to in role. The XMG-2 fires a 13mm round roughly comparable in dimensions to the .50 BMG round, though examples found in the Special Region have much lower impact force because of the poorer-quality homemade propellants used in Special Region weaponry. While the original design may have used a disintegrating metal link belt, Special Region example have been modified to feed from large drums or cloth belts. Some examples have also been equipped with improvised water cooling jackets, due to the rarity of replacements for overheated barrels. This allows for continued fire at the expense of further increasing the weight of the already heavy weapon. The XHMG-2 is usually mounted on vehicles or in defensive positions on a tripod or pintle mount. The gun is capable of engaging groups of personnel at ranges of up to 1000 meters, and, when loaded with solid steel armor-piercing rounds (as these are difficult to manufacture with Special Region technology than molded lead rounds, AP rounds only constitute every fifth or tenth round in a magazine), is capable of damaging light armor, including the light hovercraft used by Special Region residents, and even the weaker points in the armor of the Komatsu LAV at short ranges. Regardless of type of round used, the XMG-1 is capable of penetrating standard JSDF body armor. During the "guerilla phase" of the Special Region conflict, the XMG-2 was also deployed in an improvised anti-aircraft role, and proved a threat to low-flying helicopters at close ranges.**


End file.
